Mikey's Saving Grace
by jadefirefly3D
Summary: Still reeling from the Chris Bradford fiasco, Mikey tries not to let it get him down, instead choosing to distract himself in whatever way he can. A series of events send Mikey on an emotional rollercoaster, and when everything goes horribly wrong, it's up to his brothers to help pick up the pieces. Rating for mild language and violence.
1. Distractions

A/N Hi there! Thanks for clicking on my story! I hope you enjoy. I'm relatively new to the Ninja Turtle fandom. I mean sure, I watched the movies (once, a long time ago) and a few random episodes of the 2003 series during it's original run, enough to know who's who and what not, but my love for Sean Astin (Samwise!) and Rob Paulsen(Pinky!) and Greg Cipes(Beast Boy!) sparked enough interest to check out the 2012 series a few weeks ago and I gotta say, despite my reservations I was quickly hooked!

This is my first Ninja Turtles fanfiction. I hope I got the character's voices right. Oh and Ninja Turtles aren't mine.

Without further ado, enjoy!

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**Chapter One**

It had been a few days since the whole fiasco with Chris Bradford pretending to be Mikey's friend. It was clear that the betrayal hurt the youngest member of the mutant family, who just wanted to make friends with humans, but after a few sincere words from Raph, it didn't take long for Mikey to return to being his normal fun-loving self.

"That's one thing I admire about you Mikey," Leo had told him that night, shortly after Mikey 'unfriended' Chris Bradford, "you don't let things affect you too much."

"Yeah well, he obviously wasn't worth it," Mikey had replied, looking at Raph with a grin, his brother's encouraging words helping to lift his spirits. His feelings were still hurt, but he didn't need someone like him when he had his brothers and he had April's friendship.

And for the most part, Mikey didn't allow the pain of betrayal to affect him too much. But days later the ache was still there, and when he was alone it throbbed. He didn't want to face that feeling so he did what anyone would do, avoided being alone. Alone time wasn't exactly his style anyway. Sooner or later he'd be completely over it, but not yet. So Time and the company of his family was all he'd need.

"Hey Donnie," Mikey asked as everyone was lounging around waiting for nightfall so they could go out for patrol, "can I borrow your laptop?"

"Sure Mikey," Donnie said absently while he tinkered with…_something_…no one really knew quite what he was working on and asking him only made it that much more of a mystery. Without looking up he started to hand it to Mikey but stopped suddenly, realizing what he was doing. "Wait a minute, what are you planning to do with it exactly?"

"Oh, don't be so paranoid Donnie," Mikey rolled his eyes, "I just want check out my MyFace page and see if anyone's accepted my friend requests."

Raph overheard this and paused the game he and Leo were playing, "Aw don't tell me you're _still_ looking to make human friends! Haven't you learned _anything_?"

"Of course I have," Mikey frowned, accepting the laptop from a reluctant Donnie and sitting himself on the couch next to him, "That's why this time I'm being smart about it."

Raph chuckled, "You? Smart? That'll be the day."

Mikey, channeling Raph reached to smack him upside the head but Raph anticipated it and ducked, successfully smacking his younger brother instead, "Hey!" Mikey protested, "No fair!"

With that Raphael broke out into laughter, "Oh come on! I'm sure a dodo has a higher IQ than you!"

"Quit it Raph!" Mikey frowned, grabbing the laptop and moving to sit in a different spot, away from his bullying brother.

"Hey, what's the matter with you? I was only joking!" Raph exclaimed, surprised that Mikey gave up so quickly. It wasn't like him to get pouty so quickly as teasing each other was their thing. Mikey shot him a look and if Raph didn't know better, he'd say he had struck a nerve with his younger brother.

"You _are _being careful, right Mikey?" Leo asked from his spot on the other side of Raph, game controller in hand.

Mikey nodded, "Yeah. I learned my lesson. I just want some friends, but I know that meeting people in real life is a bad idea. Not that it matters. No one's accepted my friend requests anyway." He sighed dejectedly as he closed the laptop shut. Aware of three concerned sets of eyes on him he grinned to deflect their sympathies, "Oh well. No big deal, right? Who needs friends when I have awesome brothers right here? And Raph too of course."

"That's right you don't need…_hey_!" Raphael exclaimed in protest once he realized the backhanded insult and everyone else broke into laughter. "Why you little…" he grabbed the nearest object, the TV remote and whipped it at Mikey's head. Mikey dodged it easily and it smashed against the wall, breaking into pieces.

"Nice going Knucklehead, you broke the remote!" Raph accused lightly.

"Nuh-uh, I wasn't the one who threw it!"

"You coulda caught it!"

"Guys, will you quit it?" Leo asked, "It's not a big deal. Donnie, can you fix it?"

Donnie grinned, "Can I fix it? Are you kidding me? Do turtles have shells? Leo, by the time I'm done with it it'll never break again and will be able to control not just the TV but anything in the lair! Actually that's a great idea! Maybe a universal remote could come in handy…"

"And the one with the remote shall have all the power!" Mikey gave an evil laugh as he bent down to start picking the pieces up. "Dibs!"

Leo looked at the youngest brother blankly and without looking up said, "Just fix it, Donnie. There's no need to turn it into a super universal remote. It's bad enough fighting over the one thing that controls the TV, but a remote that controls _everything_?"

The four turtles paused, all imagining what could happen if there was one remote to rule them all. None of the scenarios they imagined ended well. Well, Mikey imagined all the pranks he could pull with such a device and really liked the idea until his imagination conjured up an image of all three of his brothers attacking him at once to get it back. Oh yeah, that would definitely happen and it wouldn't be pretty.

"You gotta point," Donnie sighed, clearly disappointed. He was kinda hoping for a challenge. Mikey handed him the pieces of the broken remote and Mikey caught a hint of mischief in his technogeeky brother's eyes that quickly faded but Mikey knew that look and he flashed his brother an equally mischievous smile.

Donnie rolled his eyes and slapped Mikey lightly upside the head and took the pieces, eyeing them over carefully. He quickly fiddled with it and before you could say "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" he was tossing it back to Leo. "Here, good as new."

"Amazing," Leo marvelled before he and Raphael returned to their game.

After a beat Donnie returned to whatever it was he was working on and Mikey opened up Donnie's laptop and looked again to see if he made any new friends. Nothing. No one wanted to be his friend, even online. He sighed. An ad for Chris Bradford's Martial Art's Dojo "Save 25% to sign up! Limited Time Only!" popped up on the screen and Mikey frowned at the reminder of his failure. And here he was doing such a good job at trying to forget about the whole thing! Well, almost a good job. He was after all still hoping to make a new friend.

Sighing Mikey closed the laptop and looked around feeling bored and utterly alone despite the fact his brothers were all nearby.

Donnie was busy concentrating on his latest thingamajig invention, he had already annoyed him a few times asking about it, Leo and Raph were immersed in their game. Mikey saw that it was a racing game and he grinned, flopping down on the couch beside Leo, "I play the winner?"

"Forget it Mikey," Raph rolled his eyes and focused his attention back on the game.

Leo was slightly more patient, "Maybe. But it'll be dark soon, we'll be leaving for patrol in an hour and I want to do a bit of training before we go."

"Oh, I get it! You guys afraid I'd kick your butts?" Mikey challenged with a wide grin, he looked at the screen, "Woah! Leo turn left! Turn left! Watch out for that tree!" He winced as Leo's car crashed into said pixelated tree and Raph's car whizzed past.

Raph started to laugh and Leo glared dangerously at their annoying little brother as he paused the game, "Don't you have something better to do?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know, anything!"

Mikey frowned for a moment and then brightened as he was struck with an idea, "Hey Raph…"

"No," Raph said immediately, shooting down whatever idea Mikey came up with, "We don't care what you do, but annoy someone else."

"You know I'm beginning to think you guys don't want to hang out with me," Mikey pouted, folding his arms.

"Aw gee, you think? What was your first clue genius?" Raph asked.

"Fine," Mikey huffed, trying not to let the situation hurt his feelings. He knew Raph didn't truly mean anything by it, and Mikey had been bugging them on and off all day with various pranks and stuff so a part of him totally understood why they were all sick of him. Pranking always helped get his mind off the more serious things he didn't want to deal with. But it did hurt nonetheless, and mostly because of recent events with Bradford. His betrayal really struck a nerve, and the fact that no one wanted to befriend him or hang out with him only made things worse. "I'm going to go skateboarding."

"OK," Leo said, "but make sure you're back in an hour. We gotta patrol tonight."

"Sure thing boss!" Mikey exclaimed with a mock salute, a big smile on his face. "See you later dudes!" With quickness and agility he had his board and was gone from the lair in no time at all, laughing the whole time.

The best thing about living in a sewer was the awesome places one could go to do some serious skateboarding moves. Mikey was quite sure that if he weren't a turtle forced to live in the sewer away from humans who, as he well learned, only thought of him and his kind as freaks, he was pretty sure that he could give Tony Hawk a run for his money. He would so totally be a world famous skateboarding champion in no time if he could.

He decided to go to his favorite spot to board, an abandoned subway tunnel that was blocked off from the rest of the subway system and only found via the sewers through a secret passage Mikey found when he was a little kid. It was several blocks away from the lair, a fair distance, but it didn't seem too far travelling by skateboard.

But as he made his way to his spot, he could hear a noise up above through the manhole, a noise that put him on alert. A girl's scream. The bark of a dog. He stopped and kicked his board into an upright position and grabbed it, flipping it over to strap to his back.

The girl screamed again but it was muffled. It seemed a little more distant now.

Mikey climbed the ladder and carefully lifted the cover to see what was going on. The dog barked again but was cut off abruptly as it yelped in pain. He looked towards the noise and saw a golden retriever crash into a pile of garbage bags outside a dumpster. A man had just kicked the poor thing. Mikey growled lowly in anger, but what really got his blood boiling was the sight of four more men advancing on a young girl about his age.

"No, please!" she cried as they shoved her to the ground, one of the men straddled her body and placed one hand on her mouth and another on his belt, the skirt of her dressed was pulled up and she was sobbing.

"Aren't you a pretty thing," he hissed wickedly in a tone that made Mikey sick. He leaned forward his mouth going to the nape of her neck, hand moving from her mouth to grab her chest, his other hand still reaching to remove his belt.

"No! Please! Leave me alone! No! Someone help me! Ple—!" she was cut off by one of the other men, shoving a piece of cloth in her mouth to quiet her.

Mikey had enough. He knew that the others would probably have a fit if he went to the surface and revealed himself to more humans. They had enough to deal with with the Kraang and mutants and now an army of ninjas who work for Master Splinter's nemesis Shredder, but he wasn't about to let an innocent girl...no, Leo, Raph, Donnie and Sensei would risk exposure to help others. They would understand. He jumped out of the sewer and tossed the manhole cover like a discus and knocked one of the five men down. "Leave her _alone!_" he shouted angrily, twirling his nunchucks ready to fight.

He half expected them to run at the sight, especially since one of the men was now lying semi-conscious on the ground, probably nursing broken ribs by now, but instead the others merely laughed, "What the fuck? Is the circus in town? Hey buddy, Halloween's in October dumbass!" one of them called. They all turned to him and produced weapons of their own. Brass knuckles, chains, a switchblade, a baseball bat…oh and two of them were armed with guns. Great.

"Get lost! Leave her alone!" Mikey hissed.

"What are you going to do you little Freakshow? You gonna stop us?"

"Yep, if I have to," Mikey's eyes were hard. Mikey was usually slow to anger, but they kicked a dog and were about to…to do something sickening…to an innocent girl, and if that didn't downright piss him off, nothing would.

"Then bring it!" the one he determined was the leader said, reaching one hand out, wiggling his fingers to egg him on as he raised a baseball bat with the other.

"I don't know though, four against one? That's hardly a fair fight," Mikey taunted, "Tell you what, I'll go easy on you."

That's when all hell broke loose.

"Booyakasha!" Mikey cried out, leaping into the air into a backflip and a well place kick in the chest sent one of them to the ground as the other three advanced at once. He recovered fairly quickly though, and even the one he knocked down with the manhole cover was starting to come around.

The gang wasn't as good as the Foot ninjas, far from it, but they knew how to handle their weapons, they knew how to fight well. Mikey was good, but he wasn't as good as his brothers, and without them to watch his back, his confidence tended to falter, affecting his abilities. But he had been trained in Ninjitsu since he was a little kid and he was far more advanced than these guys, so despite his weaknesses working against him, he still had the upper hand.

For the most part he was able to hold his own. For the most part.

Mikey might not be as skilled or as disciplined at Ninjitsu as his brothers, but he was fast and agile, and had a raw athletic talent that made up for it. But nothing in his training prepared him for what was about to happen.

He took a heavy blow with the bat to his stomach, and Mr. Brass Knuckles delivered a mean right hook to his face, causing stars to explode in his vision. He backflipped to dodge their relentless attacks, but the two blows had him dazed and winded and he landed completely wrong on uneven ground. Pain shot up through his leg as his knee twisted in a way that it shouldn't and he collapsed to the ground.

That was about the time the fight began to fall apart.

They advanced on him all at once, and Mikey swept his good leg out, knocking them off balance and then he leapt to his feet, only to falter when his knee gave out. He pushed himself into another flip, leaping over their heads, swinging his nunchucks at them, getting in a few good hits in before his feet even touched the ground. He was careful this time to not put his weight on his injured leg, and backflippped again landing with a roll to get as much distance away from them as he could.

He really wished his brothers were there. The pain in his knee was bad, but adrenaline and training helped him block it enough to keep fighting, but he needed back up. He wasn't sure how long he could keep it up because while he could deal with the pain, for now at least, his leg was refusing to cooperate and support his weight which made it difficult to stay on his feet, let alone fight.

He swung his kusarigama towards a fire escape, the chain wrapping securely around the cold metal and he pulled himself into the air, swinging like Tarzan to knock his foes down. He managed to knock two of them but the others dodged him. He kicked off the brick wall with his good leg to go another round, but a shot cracked through the air and a white hot pain unlike anything he ever experienced in his life burned through his shoulder and he let go, unceremoniously landing on the ground in a heap.

For a second his vision wavered and nothing made sense anymore, nothing existed but this new, excruciating pain. He slumped to the cold ground, instinctively grasping his wounded shoulder, blood seeping through his fingers. His eyes drifted closed and despite being on solid ground he felt like he was falling.

_Focus Mikey, focus!_ He inwardly screamed at himself. Focusing had never been his forte, he had always been so easily distracted much to the chagrin of Master Splinter and his brothers. But he liked to think that in life or death situations he was great at coming through at the last minute to focus on whatever he needed to do to keep himself and his brothers alive. But this time he was alone, and there was no one to back him up. He needed to focus.

He could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness, but he couldn't do that. He needed to focus and stay awake, he needed to keep fighting. The girl and her dog needed him. His brothers…they needed him and they weren't there to protect him and the girl if he were to pass out.

Mustering as much strength as he could, he slowly opened his eyes.

Only to find himself looking down the barrel of a gun.

_Focus, Mikey, focus…stay awake…gotta move…_

It was the guy he had knocked down with the manhole cover. One hand clutching his injured side, the other taking aim between his eyes.

_Come on Mikey, focus, get up… get up or you're dead…focus... stay awake…gotta move…gotta…_

Despite his efforts, Mikey's eyes slid shut as pain and darkness wrapped their fingers around him, pulling him into unconsciousness.

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Sorry about the cliffie! I guess I should warn you that I can be kinda evil that way. Thanks for taking the time to read. Please, let me know what you think! It would make me, and my muse so very happy.


	2. Grace

A/N Wow! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! I was hoping that I'd get at least one or two comments but the response was overwhelmingly awesome! Thanks so much!

I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

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**Chapter Two**

Mikey was floating in a blissful, painless state of unconsciousness. He liked it there. He wanted to stay there. It was nice.

_ "Michelangelo!"_

Master Splinter's voice pierced through the dark, empty pain-free void, grabbing Mikey's attention with a commanding authority only Splinter could convey. Sensei always had a knack for speaking a thousand words just in the way he would say his name. His voice was firm, but there was an urgency in his tone, filled with love and fear, commanding that he pay attention as though his life depended on it. And through that one word alone, Mikey was pulled away from oblivion and into awareness.

The first thing he was aware of was pain, and he gasped in shock by it.

_What…Ow! What the…_

His fingers instinctively tightened over the wound on his shoulder and he flinched as the realization hit him.

_Wait a sec, I've been shot! That guy shot me! _ He thought somewhat indignantly, in a way that could've been comical if he weren't in such a dire situation.

Mikey didn't know how long he was out, but it couldn't have been for very long. He was after all still alive, and the last thing he remembered was that the shooter was ready to plant a second bullet into his brain this time. _Oh yeah…_

He heard the click of the hammer and his eyes snapped open.

All at once three things happened. The golden retriever charged at the enemy with the gun, clamping its jaws on his arm as Mikey, noticing this rolled towards the dog as the guy pulled the trigger. Thanks to the combined efforts of the dog and Mikey's ninja reflexes, the bullet missed its target, hitting the pavement near where Mikey's head had been.

The dog stayed on his attacker, growling and biting him as he tried to push the dog away. _Man's best friend? Heh, this one's definitely this turtle's best friend. Thanks buddy!_ He thought as he rolled away from the threat. The pain in his shoulder was overwhelming, and his knee was still refusing to cooperate, but Splinter's voice echoed in his head, reminding him to ignore the pain and focus.

Rolling to his feet, he hopped back into the wall and took in his surroundings. He had managed to knock down two of his opponents, and they were starting to come around. The dog had disarmed the one guy, the other two were…where? He noticed one grabbing at the girl again she cried out in terror as he wrapped his big burley arm around her throat.

"Hey!" Mikey growled, his eyes darting around the alley to look for his weapons as he continued to clutch tightly to his bullet wound, "I said leave her alone!"

Injured and unarmed, Mikey ignored this disadvantage as he started for her attacker, but the dog beat him to it, abandoning the shooter to attack its master's assailant. At that moment he heard the rattle of chains to his right and just as he looked towards the sound he saw the guy who was previously armed with chains had discarded his weapon to use Mikey's own kusarigama against him. The bladed chain flew towards him wrapping around his wrist.

He grinned and with the flick of his wrist grasped the chain and expertly whipped it out of the man's grasp, flipped it again and the handle was back in his hand, "Thanks!" he quipped, "I was looking for that!"

He flicked the chain at the guy and it wrapped around his waist. Mikey yanked the chain towards him, the attacker lost his balance and faceplanted on the pavement.

At that moment he was struck by a wave of dizziness and he stumbled back, nearly losing his balance as he accidentally put his weight on his injured leg. One quick glance at his wounded shoulder told him that he was losing a lot of blood and needed to end this party soon. His whole arm was trembling from his shoulder to the tips of his fingers. Unfortunately these guys were relentless.

He heard the click of a hammer and saw the other dude armed with a gun aim at him. Mikey quickly rolled out of the line of fire and stood on his hands, his uninjured arm taking all the weight as he kicked his legs, knocking the gun from his assailant's hands and then clocking him in the chin for good measure as he leapt back to his feet.

And then promptly fell back on his shell as he accidentally landed with most his weight on his injured leg. His knee collapsed and he fell to the ground hard, bad shoulder first. His vision wavered and he could feel the pull of unconsciousness again.

_No way…focus Mikey…what would Raph do? Or Leo? They probably wouldn't let a stupid gunshot wound get the better of them…and Donnie definitely would've used his genius brain to come up with an awesome plan to end this fight despite it all…and here I am getting my shell kicked by some stupid street gang!_

Aware of the attackers advancing, Mikey took a deep breath and reached for his discarded kusarigama and mustered as much strength as he could manage. He growled and pushed himself off the ground, "Booyakasha!" he yelled, swinging his weapon as hard as he could, knocking two of them down, the blade at the end of the chain cutting another across the face. He went at them full force, for a moment there was no pain there was no weakness, just a strong desire to rescue the girl and stay alive.

Suddenly a wail of sirens suddenly drew near.

"Shit it's the cops!" the leader of the group hissed, clutching at his bleeding forehead, "Let's ditch the freakshow!"

The others complied, and Mikey grinned at the sight of them nursing various wounds inflicted on them by him and the dog. _That's what happens when you try to hurt some innocent girl!_

"This isn't over you Karate Freak! You'd better hope we don't find you again!"

"It's Ninjitsu idiot!" Mikey blew a raspberry as they retreated. Heaving a sigh Mikey sank back to the ground, grasping his bleeding shoulder again, breathing heavily as the pain throbbed ferociously, causing his whole body to tremble as the adrenaline from the fight suddenly left him. He knew he should fear the sirens as well, but for the moment he couldn't bring himself to move again. Fortunately the sirens grew louder and then fainter as they whizzed past the alley. He sighed, _As long as those goons don't come back, we should be OK…_

He glanced towards the girl who was huddled against the wall, her knees pulled to her chest, face buried in her hand as the other stroked the dog that sat protectively beside her. She was sobbing and visibly trembling.

"Uh, it's OK. You don't have to be afraid, they're gone and I'm not going to hurt you," he soothed awkwardly.

She stopped crying and lifted her head her eyes looking right through him, "Why would I be afraid of you? You saved me."

It was then that he noticed things he hadn't before. The special scarf on the dog's back indicating that it was a service dog and unique lead that was more like a handle than a leash, the way her eyes stared right through him, unphased by his turtle form like he had expected… "You're blind!" he blurted. The realization angered him more. Not only did that gang attack an innocent girl, but they attacked an innocent _blind_ girl?! What kind of cowards went after a blind girl?

She let out a frantic little laugh, but calmed quickly, "You're hurt."

"I'm OK," he replied, even though he wasn't.

"No," she shook her head, still sobbing, "they shot you!" The realization threw her into a bit of a panic but she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and started to feel the area around her, "Where's my phone…" she murmured absently, "Stay right there, I'll call 9-1-1, you'll be all right…"

"No!" he exclaimed, causing her to jump, "You can't!" He lowered his voice when he realized he startled the already terrified girl, "You can't. I'll be fine, it was just a graze!" he said, even though it wasn't.

She frowned in confusion but nodded hesitantly, "Well, at least let me help you." She felt around and retrieved her scarf that they had used as a gag and carefully crawled towards him, as she drew near she reached for him and Mikey grabbed her hand. She let out a gasp, "Your fingers! They…" she stopped, hesitating as Mikey let go.

"Uh…yeah um…" he suddenly felt self-conscious.

Calming down she took a breath, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have…I just didn't expect that."

"It's OK, I have that effect on people," he chuckled awkwardly as she placed her hand on his again.

She gently moved her trembling hand up his arm, hesitating when she touched blood. Wincing in sympathy she followed the trail of blood until she reached the wound, causing Mikey to unintentionally flinch in pain, "Sorry!" She exclaimed, pressing her silky pink and yellow scarf against the wound, "I…I have to stop the bleeding. I'm not very good at this so I…"

"It's OK," Mikey smiled, "You're doing fine."

He watched her try to work as she pressed the scarf against his wound for a moment, and then started to attempt to wrap it around his shoulder. He took in her details, her long light brown hair that cascaded down her back in waves, the freckles on her cheeks and nose, her soft pink lips, her large expressive yet unseeing brown eyes… It was probably at that moment when he finally understood where Donnie was coming from with his crush on April. Sure, he was still going to tease Donnie relentlessly about it whenever the opportunity came up, because how could he _not_? But he understood now.

Her hand brushed against his shell and she let out a soft gasp as she explored his shell for a moment and she leaned back, drawing away from him, "You…you're not human, are you?"

Mikey lowered his head halfway into his shell, a little embarrassed and disappointed. Surely she was afraid of him now… but he watched her expression change from scared to confused and soften into understanding, "No wonder you don't want the police to get here. Are you one of those mutants I've been hearing about?" there was no judgement in her voice, but curiosity.

"Uh, yeah…"

"And I thought that was just an urban legend."

"You're not afraid of me?"

"You saved my life," she reminded him, "I don't care what you are. And you have a kind voice…"

"Are you OK?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah," she breathed shakily, "A little bruised, a little terrified, but I'm OK now that they're gone. Everything I heard about mutants has been bad, but…I'm glad you're one of the good guys." She let out a nervous laugh and went back to dressing Mikey's shoulder. She tied off the scarf and brushed her hand along the silky material to check her work, "It's not much but I think it will hold."

"It's perfect," Mikey assured her, unable to take his eyes off her, "I'm sure my brother Donnie will be able to patch me up when I get home."

"You have a brother?"

"Three actually."

"And they're…uh…"

"Mutant turtles," Mikey offered.

"Mutant turtles," she paused as though testing out the sound of it, "like you?" She smiled, wiping her bloodied hands on her torn dress, "I got rescued by a mutant turtle who happens to be an expert at…uh….ninjitsu is it? That means you're a ninja, right?"

"Yeah."

"I must be dreaming."

"'Fraid not," Mikey replied.

She nodded and sat next to him in silence as she processed this information, hugging herself until the dog licked her hand and sat beside her and she hugged the dog instead. It was awkward, and Mikey was soon fidgeting because he had no idea what to do. Finally she spoke, breaking the silence, "My name's Grace."

"I'm Michelangelo, but everyone calls me Mikey," he reached with his good arm to pet the dog, "You have a beautiful dog. He saved my life."

"She," Grace corrected him, "And I'm not surprised. Her name's Lexi."

"Hi Lexi!" Mikey greeted, scratching her ears, "I owe you one." He winced as a wave of pain washed over him and he realized his hand was shaking. He really needed to get home, Grace's makeshift bandage and first aid treatment helped slow the bleeding, but it hurt like hell.

"She's the best guide dog a girl can ask for," Grace added proudly. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah," Mikey grunted, taking a breath to try and ignore the pain. But now that the threat was gone and the adrenaline of the fight had worn off, the pain was relentless. Not just the bullet wound, which was by far the worst, but his knee also and he was slowly becoming aware of other aches and pains on his body. He was pretty sure his bruises had bruises and his face from where he had been punched with the brass knuckles tingled and he reached and felt that the area was swollen and the skin broken. He was going to have an amazing shiner tomorrow.

She turned her face towards him, "You don't sound OK."

"I will be," Mikey assured her, "just a little beat up is all." _Understatement of the year…_He looked around again and with a pained grunt he pushed himself to his feet and limped to retrieve his fallen weapons and Grace's phone which was broken. He spotted a broken broom handle near the dumpster and hopped over to it, wincing as the movements jarred his injuries, and used it as a crutch, "We can't stay here. Why don't I take you home?" He offered, leaning down to lightly touch her hand.

She grabbed his hand and let him pull her to her feet. She reached for the handle of Lexi's lead and Lexi obediently stood, Grace sighed gratefully, "Could you? I…I could get home myself but I don't know where I am."

"No problem," Mikey grinned, "but we have to stay hidden. I can't be seen."

"I understand," she replied. She told him where she lived and Mikey was relieved that it wasn't very far. Making sure the coast was clear they limped along towards her apartment. Mikey had to lean on Grace for support since dizziness from bloodloss and his injured knee made it difficult to walk, much to his dismay, but Grace didn't seem to mind, she took the role of crutch with ease. Meanwhile Mikey acted as her eyes, telling her where there was a step or crack in the sidewalk to avoid, and telling her where to turn. Grace was distraught when she realized that Lexi was limping heavily but Mikey assured her she seemed OK other than an injured front leg.

They reached the front entrance of her apartment and Grace relaxed when she was back on familiar ground, "I've got it from here," she sighed, "thanks so much Mikey for all you've done for me."

"No problem, glad I could help."

She huffed a laugh, "No problem indeed. Are you OK getting home?"

"I should be…" he started but a wave of dizziness caused him to lose his balance and he leaned heavily into Grace, "Woah…" he murmured blinking heavily to will the world to stop spinning.

"I can't leave you like this, come on upstairs," Grace said, "We've got better first aid supplies than my scarf and you can call your brothers to come get you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Grace replied, "my mom works nights so she's not home and I can't let you leave in your condition, what if something happened to you and you passed out in the alley or worse? Besides, I'm still scared and I…I don't want to be alone." She whimpered softly, tightening her grip on Mikey's good shoulder.

Mikey nodded in agreement but then remembered she couldn't see it so he replied, "OK."

"If we run into anyone on the way up we'll just say we were at a costume party," Grace decided.

"Sounds like a plan," Mikey agreed, "lead the way."

Soon they were in Grace's apartment. Despite the rundown neighborhood she lived in, and poor condition of the apartment building, the apartment was immaculate and homey. There wasn't a lot of furniture or decoration, but it felt warm and inviting with hardwood floors and simple décor and a warm vanilla scent. Grace led the way to her room, moving as though she wasn't blind at all, much more relaxed now that she was home.

"Sit," she told him, gently pushing him into her room. Her room was simple and plain, though considering she was blind Mikey figured there was little need to decorate. There was a bed and a desk chair and Mikey pulled out the desk chair and sat down, admiring the computer on her desk and the keyboard beside it and the guitar leaning against the wall. Grace left the room and returned with some bandages, a bottle of pills, glass of water and a phone, "I called my mom. She'll be here as soon as she can get out of work, so we gotta work fast. Here," she handed him the phone, "so you can call your brothers."

"Thanks," Mikey said gratefully. He dialled the number to the lair, hoping someone would pick up, but there was no answer. _We gotta get ourselves cell phones,_ Mikey mused, _maybe I should mention it to Donnie_. It was dark out now, probably past the time he was supposed to be back so he figured maybe his brothers went looking for him, or went on patrol without him. Master Splinter was probably meditating or something and he doubted Splinter would stop to answer the phone.

Before he could say anything else there was a knock on the door. "Gracie!" a voice called, "It's Mrs. Lovett, your mother called, said you were attacked? She asked me to stay with you until she gets here."

"Damn it, I should've known mom would..." Grace whispered, "you got to go. Mrs. Lovett's the building manager and has a key and she…" she turned her ear to the door and heard the sound of someone fiddling with a ring of keys.

"Gracie!" Mrs. Lovett chirped.

"She'll look after me, I'm so sorry Mikey," Grace said sincerely, giving him the bandages and some painkillers, "I'm sure she would freak out if she saw you and I know she'd tell everyone about you!"

"I understand," Mikey whispered, "I should be OK. Thanks."

"Don't thank me," Grace insisted, "you're the one who got hurt saving my life, need I remind you!"

"Well, it was nice meeting you," Mikey said awkwardly.

Grace seemed distressed, "Please be careful and come back again when you can so I can know you're OK."

Despite the pain Mikey grinned at the invite, "Sure!" _She wants to see me again! _And with that he took the bandages and his makeshift crutch and slipped out the window onto the fire escape just as Mrs. Lovett opened the door. He waited on the fire escape, making sure to stay hidden. Partly to make sure Grace was still OK and partly to gather the strength to make it down. After a few minutes he gingerly made his way down the fire escape, staying in the shadows until he found a manhole and disappeared into the sewers, the whole time praying that he'd make it home. His head was swimming and the pain was overwhelming. He popped the medicine into his mouth, dry swallowing, frowning at the bitter taste it left in his mouth.

_What I wouldn't give for a pizza right now…_he thought dreamily, stumbling heavily as he tripped over his own feet. He squeezed his eyes shut, trembling violently from the pain and forced himself to keep moving. He limped clumsily along for a little while, staggering and stumbling, wishing that he could've contacted his brothers, hoping that they were looking for him because he was pretty sure he was going to pass out any time now.

_Focus Mikey, focus,_ he told himself. Focusing was never his forte… He tripped again and the broom handle that he was using as a crutch fell from his grasp into the murky water that flowed beside him. He collapsed into the sewer wall and leaned on that to continue his journey, but it put pressure on his injured shoulder and he let out an involuntary cry of pain when his shoulder screamed in protest.

His voice echoed through the tunnel and he winced but continued to slowly plow ahead. _Focus, stay awake, stay standing, gotta keep moving…man why can't I concentrate? I bet Leo would've had no trouble making it back if he were me, I bet he'd be…be…he could focus…And Raph's too badass to let an injury get the better of him…and Donnie, _Mikey chuckled humourlessly to himself, _he'd probably…probably… invent something cool to get himself home…_

Mikey groaned in pain, clutching his shoulder. It was bleeding again. _Crap. _He blinked as the dark surroundings wobbled, and stars swam into his vision. _Don't pass out yet, Mikey… _He let out a moan and leaned heavily into the wall with a grunt.

Suddenly he heard movement ahead of him and looked to see a light switch on at the end of the tunnel. He blinked and smiled at the sight of the silhouette of three mutant turtles in the distance.

"Mikey?"

He never felt so happy to hear Raph's voice and he choked out a sob at the sound. Leo and Donnie's voices echoed him. "Dudes!" he called out weakly, "So glad you're here!" He tried to take a step forward but his knee gave out completely and he stumbled to the ground, nearly toppling into the water.

"MIKEY!" Raph called in alarm as all three rushed to his side. Raph and Leo knelt beside him, helping him up and taking his weight, Leo taking care not to jostle his shoulder while Donnie regarded his battered state worriedly. "Man what happened to you?" Raph demanded, though there was genuine concern in his voice.

"It's a looong story," he replied faintly, a big, dopey and relieved grin on his bruised face.

Now that he was safe with his brothers he no longer had the need to fight to stay awake. This time he welcomed it with open arms and allowed the painless world of oblivion to claim him once more. His brothers had him; they'd take care of him.

_It's over. _He thought, _Everything's gonna be OK now…_

Little did he realize that he was wrong. It wasn't over. It was only the beginning.

* * *

A/N Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think, good or bad. And please don't let the OC turn you off, I know that OC's can easily fall into Mary Sue territory and I assure you this isn't the case here. It's kind of necessary for the story I want to tell, but this is Mikey and the Turtles's story first and foremost.

You guys are awesome and have totally made my week! I hope to get the next chapter up soon.


	3. Doubt

A/N Hi everyone! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day/night whatevs! Just so you know, I'm kind of a sucker for the hurt/comfort genre and with Mikey sleeping through most of the chapter, I figured this is a great time to indulge in one of my favorite genres and give the other Turtles (mostly Donnie this time around) a chance to shine! Hope I'm still keeping them in character and I'm no medical expert, so any medical stuff in this chapter and further into the story is completely made up, so don't be counting on medical accuracy. (Of course most movies and shows take great liberties with that aspect as well!) I struggled a lot with this chapter and I'm still unsure about the results but I hope you like it. Don't forget to leave a review! I love hearing from y'all! ^_^

Without further ado, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Three

"OK," Raph muttered as he, Leo and Donnie stood in the first intersection of the sewer near the lair looking at three different routes they could take to look for Mikey. "Which one? Tunnel one, two or three?"

"He has so many favorite skateboarding tunnels," Leo frowned, "It could be any of them."

"Or none of them and he's somewhere else completely," Donnie added.

"Split up?" Raph suggested.

Leo shook his head, "No, Splinter said we have to stick together."

"I don't get why exactly," Raph huffed, rolling his eyes, "He said it was important we get back as soon as possible and we'd find him a lot faster if we split up."

"I know, but Master Splinter was pretty clear," Leo pointed out.

"He seemed worried," Donnie mused and the others nodded in agreement.

The evening had been pretty normal with Mikey being his typical annoying self until he decided to go skateboarding and then things were nice and quiet. Raph and Leo enjoyed their video games in relative peace that is until Raph won and Leo demanded a rematch which led to another rematch when Leo won that round and things got a little…heated as usual. Regardless, they didn't bother Donnie, who was able to work on his latest project without further interruptions now that Mikey had left, until Master Splinter came in.

"Where's Michelangelo?" he had asked, looking around the room.

"He went skateboarding," Donnie shrugged as Raph and Leo, who were by then wrestling on the floor arguing about who won, scrambled to their feet and acted like they weren't just fighting in a very ungraceful, un-ninja-like manner.

"Where?" Splinter demanded.

"Is everything all right Sensei?" Leo asked cautiously, because while Splinter was acting like his normal stoic self, he seemed almost on edge.

He nodded, "Yes." He closed his eyes and took a calming breath, "Yes I'm certain everything is just fine. However…I want you boys to go get him. It is urgent that I speak with him as soon as possible."

"I'll get 'em," Raph volunteered.

"No," Splinter replied, "All of you will go. I want you to stay together."

The three Turtles looked at each other in confusion because they could all sense that something was off even though Splinter was doing his best to act like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Are you sure everything is all right?" Leo asked again.

Splinter seemed to relax a little, but there was something in his eyes that betrayed anxiety. He nodded, "I believe so, but I had a bad feeling a moment ago though it is gone now. Now go. Stick together and hurry."

They left without further question. All three confused about their Sensei's odd behavior.

"I wonder what's wrong," Donnie pondered as they stood at the cross tunnel, "you don't think something might be wrong do you"

"Who knows?" Raph shrugged.

"He had been meditating, and he said he had a bad feeling," Leo sighed, "I don't know but Sensei's intuition is rarely off. It might be nothing, but if he feels better if we're together, then I do too. Let's go this way," he pointed to the right and the three headed down that tunnel in silence.

They looked through the first tunnel, which led to one of Mikey's favorite skateboarding haunts but he wasn't there. It was a known fact though that there were a lot of places in the sewers Mikey liked to skate, so they made their way to the next one. Nothing.

"This is taking forever," Raph grumbled. When Leo shot him a dirty look he shrugged, "What? We could've each searched a tunnel three times over by now."

As they made their way to the third possible location, they heard a noise echoing in the distance. It almost sounded like a cry of pain, but the way it echoed the sound was distorted so it could've been anything. It could've been Mikey, but then it could've been an animal, a city worker, or a threat like Bradford or the Kraang.

Leo stopped and motioned them to stay quiet. They figured it was most likely Mikey, but considering the other possibilities they silently agreed to proceed with caution in the off chance it wasn't. Donnie clicked off his flashlight and the tunnel was suddenly bathed in darkness, but the faint light from the city streetlights above seeped through the cracks provided enough light to continue. Growing up in the sewers and being trained most of their lives to stay hidden in the shadows made it easy for their eyes to adjust to the darkness.

They quickly followed the sound in silence. Not even their footsteps made a sound as they moved. They heard another sound just as they turned the corner and in the pale light saw a figure stumble in the distance. Another groan. It sounded like Mikey.

Donnie dared to turn on his light as it illuminated their little brother. He looked…awful.

"Mikey?" Raph called out cautiously, the others echoing him.

Mikey looked up, grinned at them, "Dudes! So glad you're here!" he called, his voice was remarkably weak. And then, with an audible wince he collapsed.

"MIKEY!" Raph called out in alarm and the next moment the three of them were at his side.

Leo and Raph helped him up and Leo swallowed hard at the sight of the blood caked on his battered body and the scarf roughly tied around his shoulder that was saturated in blood. He took care as he steadied him on that side, noting the injury and trying his best not to aggravate it any further and worried at how unnaturally cold and clammy his skin felt.

"Man what happened to you?" Raph demanded worriedly.

To everyone's surprise Mikey grinned as though nothing was wrong, even though he looked like roadkill. "It's a looong story," he replied, his voice faint and strained, though sounding surprisingly happy. Then with a wince of pain his eyes fluttered and he went completely limp in Raph and Leo's arms.

"Mikey!" Raph called, shaking him. There was no response though, he was out cold.

Donnie shone the flashlight and frowned at how pale Mikey was, he was almost white. He pressed his fingers to his throat and his frown deepened, "We gotta get him back to the lair, I think he's going into shock."

There was no arguing, no hesitation as Donnie led the way while Raph and Leo carried their injured brother back home.

0-0-0

"Master Splinter!" Donnie called as he burst into the lair, a few paces ahead of the others. Already he was in action, rushing to gather blankets, mumbling to himself as he made a mental list of all he was going to need. Splinter was there almost instantly.

"Donatello, what is it?"

Donnie didn't have to reply because the others arrived and Splinter's eyes widened at the sight of his youngest. He ushered them into Donnie's lab and quickly, unceremoniously cleared his table of the various items Donnie had been working on and Raph and Leo gently set Mikey down. Donnie didn't have it in him to protest the treatment of his projects, he didn't even give it a thought. Mikey was more important.

"What happened?" Splinter asked, gently lifting Mikey's head as Donnie put a pillow under it and moved to let him drape a blanket over him, leaving his bloody shoulder exposed.

"No clue," Leo replied, his voice shaking a little, "when we found him in the tunnels he passed out before he could tell us. Whoever did this to him…there was no sign of them so I think Mikey was making his way back to us."

"He's lost a lot of blood, Sensei," Donnie cut in, because the questions of who, what and why could wait, "He's going into shock."

Splinter nodded solemnly as he leaned over his son and checked his pulse. He gently untied the mysterious blood-stained scarf so they could see the wound, "We must work quickly then. Raphael, fetch some hot water and towels, Leonardo, the first aid kit," he ordered. Leo moved quickly but Raph hesitated a moment, unable to take his eyes off of his brother but a gentle, "Go," from Splinter got him moving.

As Splinter peeled the scarf from the wound, different scenarios of what might've happened to Mikey crossed their minds. Was it the Kraang? Foot Ninja? Something else? For Splinter, whose fear of the Shredder only grew deeper the moment he realized that his old enemy not only knew that he was in New York City, but also knew about the Turtles, his sons, he worried about the Foot. He knew it was only a matter of time before they were discovered. What if the Foot did this to Michelangelo? What if they used him as a trap like Shredder's disciple Bradford had a few days ago?

_Calm yourself, _he breathed, peeling the fabric away. Panic would do Michelangelo no good and they still didn't know what happened, or what they were facing. He frowned at the sight of a hole in Mikey's shoulder, not a stab wound like he expected.

"What is it?" Donnie asked, noticing Splinter's frown deepen further he looked at the wound, "Master Splinter, is that a…a bullet wound?"

Splinter nodded, oddly relieved because a bullet wound meant it was not the Foot like he had feared. A Foot Ninja would never sacrifice their honor by resorting to using such a weapon. The relief was extremely short lived though, quickly replaced with anger and concern for his injured son.

Fortunately the blood had clotted around the wound so it wasn't bleeding as badly as it clearly had been, but he had lost a lot of blood, and upon gently lifting his shoulder to look at the back, Splinter sighed deeply, his brow furrowing with worry as he turned to Donnie, "I was afraid of this."

"What?" Donnie asked, taking a look for himself. He paled, "No exit wound." He had feared that too but he had hoped that the wound would've required little more than a few stitches. Stitches he could do, easily. But he couldn't possibly…

"Donatello…"

"I have to get it out," Donnie whispered, panic rising within him.

"Get what out?" Raph asked as he and Leo returned with the items requested.

"Th-the bullet," Donnie replied absently, his mind reeling, "Master Splinter, I don't know if I can do this…"

"Wait, what?" Raph cut in, "Someone _shot_ my brother? Oh, I'm going to find out who did this and when I get my hands on 'em I'll…"

"Raphael," Splinter admonished sternly yet gently, "Now is not the time."

"But…" Raph growled angrily, "someone did this to him and they gotta pay!"

"Raph," Leo scolded quietly, though there was a vengeful glint in his eyes as well. Raph started to argue but when their eyes met he realized that Leo was thinking the same thing as he was and they nodded in silent agreement. They were going to find out who hurt their brother, but now was not the time.

Donnie meanwhile suddenly couldn't breathe. He knew what he had to do, but it wasn't like anything he had done before. What if he messed up? What if he hurt Mikey more than he already was? If it was just cleaning the wound and giving him a few stitches it would be no problem, but Mikey was going into shock, he lost a lot of blood and…

"Donatello."

The firm tone Splinter used to say his name sliced through his panic like a knife, and Donnie gasped, taking in a deep breath as Leo placed a supportive hand on his shoulder. He looked at Raph, who was staring at their youngest brother's unconscious form with worry, clenching his fists with pent up rage.

"I've never done anything like this before, Sensei," Donnie murmured, his eyes drifting to Mikey's pale, bruised face.

"I realize that," Splinter replied gently, "but you can do this. You have proven yourself more than capable of treating injuries. You're smart, you've studied; you know what to do."

Donnie snorted doubtfully, this wasn't the mere first aid he was used to. This wasn't wrapping up a sprain, or giving a few stitches or treating the flu, this was surgery. "In theory, sure. It's one thing to read about it, but another to actually do it," he pointed out, pressing his fingers to Mikey's throat, frowning at how weak and rapid his pulse was.

Raph looked up to meet Donnie's gaze and Donnie's breath hitched at the pleading look in Raph's eyes. Gone was the tough guy façade Raph tended to convey in a time of crisis, instead Raph looked lost and helpless and his eyes begged Donnie to fix their brother.

_OK, think…_ Donnie ran his hands down his face, rubbing his eyes, _Prioritize… _He felt Leo give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "OK," he said with a nod, "OK…" he could feel three sets of eyes on him, waiting for him to say something, to do something. It needed to be done, and he was the only one who could get the bullet out. Splinter knew a little bit about field medicine and had taught him what little he knew about first aid, but the always inquisitive Donnie was the one who read further and studied beyond the basics.

When he was nine Donnie had found a discarded box of old medical textbooks and read through them all over the years. The others teased him for his choice of leisure reading materials, especially comic book loving Mikey, but he had found them so fascinating. There was also a medical dictionary that he often referenced it whenever one of them got injured or sick, and with Splinter's guidance Donnie learned how to treat most minor injuries and give stiches and when Raph fractured his wrist last year he even helped set the bone.

But this was different. This was surgery. This was more advanced than he was ready for. Donnie might have read a few text books, but he specialized in machines and computers and technology, not medicine.

But still, out of all of them, Donnie was indeed the only one even close to being qualified to remove the bullet. He knew it had to be him but doubt was overwhelming him. _What if I make a mistake? I could kill him! _Donnie's breath hitched at the thought with renewed panic. He hated working under pressure, and this was almost more than he could handle. This was Mikey's life on the line and if he screwed up…

Splinter sensed his unease and placed his hand on Donnie's shoulder, "Donatello, trust your skills, trust your instincts. You may lack experience, but you're smart and you know more than you think."

He took a deep breath and replied doubtfully, "Thank you, Sensei."

"You can do this. You must not let fear and doubt cloud your judgement. You are smart, resourceful and capable. I know Michelangelo is in good hands."

Raph and Leo echoed the sentiment. Donnie smiled but he couldn't help but worry that when the time came to remove the bullet, that he'd only make things worse. And despite their encouragement, Donnie knew they were worried about the same thing. How could they not? They were no strangers to injury, but this was more serious than they had ever seen before, except maybe Splinter, but not since he was a human when there were actual trained doctors and actual hospitals that could take care of any serious injuries.

"So what do you need for us to do to help Donnie?" Leo asked.

Donnie closed his eyes a moment. _Think, focus on what you know… "_We need to get him stabilized before I do anything. He's needs blood."

Raph and Leo both readily volunteered to donate their blood but as it turned out only Leo was a match. It wasn't long before Leo was sitting on a chair by the table tethered to Mikey, his blood flowing into Mikey's veins.

"What can I do?" Raph asked, clearly on edge. Raph was all about action and he was already pacing, shoulders tense, fists clenched, itching for something productive to do. Since revenge was currently out of the question until they knew more, he was ready to jump out of his shell if he didn't get to do something. He couldn't stand it when one of his brothers was upset or sick or hurt and there was nothing he could actively do to help.

Donnie tilted his chin towards the water and towels Raph had brought, "Start cleaning some of the dirt and blood. And we need to get him warm."

Raph nodded, grateful for a task and got to work, removing Mikey's elbow pads and knee pads, noting to Donnie and Splinter the swelling in his knee. He washed Mikey's wounds with a tenderness that was not typically associated with the hothead.

Donnie quickly checked the knee. "I'm guessing torn ligaments," Donnie said, but it clearly wasn't his main concern at the moment. Still, he and Raph propped the knee up on a pile of blankets and Donnie wrapped it like a pro. He still had to look at it more closely later, but he was confident that his diagnosis was correct. He was oddly grateful for it, because he wasn't feeling very confident about anything else. That was at least something he knew he could do well.

Eventually color began to return to Mikey's bruised face and after checking his vitals Donnie determined it was time to stop the transfusion, though he was uncertain about it. Blood transfusions was another thing Donnie hadn't done before, and he knew the risk he was taking by having Leo donate blood directly to Mikey. Not that they had much choice, there was no time to do it the safe way. And Donnie realized that he didn't know how much Leo had donated, or how much Mikey still needed. He wanted Mikey to get the best care but didn't want to risk Leo in the process…

"How are you feeling Leo?" Donnie asked, his face grim as he removed the needle from Leo's arm.

"Fine," Leo replied.

"Not dizzy or anything?"

He nodded.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Leo insisted. "Are you sure that's enough?"

"No," Donnie admitted, "but you're starting to look almost as pale as he is."

"I can do this all day if it helps Mikey," Leo stated.

"Leonardo," Splinter warned.

"OK, so I'm a little dizzy but I'm fine."

Donnie frowned, "It's not going to do any of us any good if you make yourself sick."

"He's right you know," Raph agreed.

"So then what do we do now?" Leo asked turning to Donnie.

Donnie bit his lip doubtfully, "Now, we wait. I can't remove the bullet yet, not until you've had a chance to recover," he told Leo, "I'm afraid Mikey will need another transfusion when I'm done getting the bullet out. I don't want to wait too long, but…" Donnie's mind was racing, as he thought of all the things that could go wrong. _What if I make a mistake? What if I make things worse?_

Splinter sensing his escalating anxiety spoke up, "Raphael, help Leonardo to his room. He needs to rest."

"I'm OK," Leo protested rising to his feet only to falter.

Raph grabbed his arm, holding him steady, "Sure you are, Hero."

"But Mikey…"

"Is stable now, thanks to you," Splinter assured him. "Go. We will call you if anything changes. Raphael, look after him."

Leo sighed and acquiesced, though he wasn't happy about it. Raph chuckled softly and gave him a gentle pat on the shell, "Come on. I think there's a glass of orange juice and some leftover pizza in the fridge with your name on it." He led Leo out of the room, looking over his shoulder in concern on the way out.

After they were out of earshot, Splinter turned to Donnie, "Donatello, breathe."

Donnie did as he was told, taking a deep breath. It was then that he realized that he had been on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Letting yourself get worked up in a panic is not going to help Michelangelo," Splinter said.

"I know Sensei," Donnie sighed, "and I know that this will be a relatively basic surgery, but there's so much that can go wrong…"

"But it needs to be done," Splinter reminded him and Donnie nodded in agreement. "I'm going to leave you here alone, give you some space and a chance to clear your mind."

"OK," Donnie breathed out slowly, trying to calm himself. He gave his Sensei a wan smile, knowing he was right. Panic and worry would only cloud his judgement. Though trying to reconcile that fact with his nerves was not going to be easy.

Splinter placed his hand on Donnie's shoulder and turned to leave.

"Sensei, wait," Donnie stopped him, as a thought occurred to him, "Could you do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"Could you call April?" he asked, grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil, "I was going through our supplies," he said, jotting a few things down, "and Mikey's going to need some things that we don't have. Could you ask her to get these things for me?" he handed Splinter a list of supplies.

Splinter scanned the page, raising his brow at some of the items but said nothing. He nodded once and started to leave, pausing to place his hand tenderly on Mikey's head, closing his eyes briefly as though praying and then he was gone and Donnie was alone.

Donnie checked Mikey's pulse again and frowned. His vitals had improved but it provided little comfort because he knew that could change drastically when the time came to remove the bullet. He wished he had access to all the resources hospitals had, like antibiotics, anesthesia, morphine… He knew April would be willing to help, but those items would be out of her reach, but he knew she would try. Otherwise they would have to improvise with over the counter medication.

Since Mikey's temperature was back to normal now, thanks to the transfusion, Donnie decided that while they waited for Leo to recover from his impromptu blood donation he would work on getting the swelling down on Mikey's bruised face and his injured knee. He risked leaving his side to get some ice packs they kept in the freezer. He saw Leo lying down on the couch with Raph sitting beside him as they went through the motions of watching TV. It was clear they were too worried to be paying any attention to what was on. Splinter looked up as he hung up the phone. They all looked at him expectantly when he emerged.

"I'm just getting some ice for the swelling," Donnie explained quietly.

"April will be here as soon as she can to get the items you requested," Splinter announced.

Donnie nodded, grabbing what he needed and disappearing back into his Lab. Raph started to follow, but Splinter motioned for him to give Donnie his space to which Donnie was grateful. He was on edge and the company, no matter how good the intentions always added to the stress. Though at that moment, he would've given anything to hear Mikey pester him and ask all sorts of annoying questions that always tested Donnie's temper.

He sighed and closed the door behind him and gently put an ice pack on Mikey's swollen knee, and another on his battered face. The bruises and broken skin made Donnie wonder what exactly struck him, because it wasn't just someone's fist. Mikey shuddered at the sudden cold, but didn't stir.

"What happened to you?" he whispered, adjusting his blanket. He went to his bookshelf and grabbed one of his textbooks, deciding a quick refresher wouldn't hurt.

0-0-0

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but a groan from the table pulled Donnie away from his book. "Mikey?" Donnie queried, jumping to his feet, leaning over his brother in anticipation.

Mikey flinched, whimpering in pain, his head rolling from side to side, the ice pack sliding off his face. His eyes fluttered and he moaned, "Hmm…Donnie?"

"I'm here," he assured him. "How are you doing?"

With effort, Mikey opened one eye, the other one was pretty much swollen shut, "Never better," he whispered faintly, giving a half grin. He shifted, trying to sit up and gasped in shock at the pain, "Owww….on second thought, anyone get the number of that train?"

Donnie chuckled slightly at Mikey's humor, "Don't try to move too much."

"Noted," Mikey quipped with a weak groan.

Donnie grabbed his penlight and shone it in Mikey's eyes, frowning at how his pupils were slow to react. "Do you remember what happened?"

Mikey groaned, squeezing his eyes shut from the light and tried to concentrate, "Not really…bits and pieces, I guess…" The color suddenly drained from his face and he swallowed hard, "I think I'm… ugh…going to be sick!"

Reacting quickly Donnie grabbed his trashcan and helped Mikey sit up. He retched into the can, whimpering in agony as the sudden movement jarred his injuries. "It's OK," Donnie soothed, wrapping his arm around Mikey's back to both comfort him and support him, "you're going to be OK." He glanced up and noticed the door opening carefully and he saw Raph and a wobbly Leo standing in the doorway, watching in concern and relief. Splinter was right behind them but when he realized what was happening, he quietly slipped away to get some water.

When Mikey was done, Donnie took the trashcan away and set it on the floor as Raph, eyes wide in worry rushed to his side, "Mikey! What happened? Who did this to you?"

"Raph, not now," Leo chided, unsteadily moving to sit on the chair.

"H-hey guys," Mikey tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

"Take it easy," Donnie soothed, "What do you remember?"

"Th-there was a girl," Mikey said, closing his eyes in concentration, "and these guys attacked her and…one of them shot me!" He opened his eyes and regarded his brothers with an indignant look on his face, "I mean, dude! Who does that?" he blurted incredulously.

The others couldn't help but smile at that. Mikey might've been hurt, weak and in pain, but he was still Mikey and that was a good sign. Splinter returned with the water and helped him drink and then he and Donnie eased him back down.

"What hurts?" Donnie asked, checking his pulse again, wanting to know if there were any more injuries besides the ones they could see.

"I think the question is what _doesn't_ hurt," Mikey moaned.

"Well, you got beaten up pretty good," Leo frowned, "besides getting shot…"

"I-I still have to get the bullet out," Donnie cut in, trying not to sound terrified at the idea.

"Wait, what?" Mikey asked, his good eye widening in panic, "You mean like, surgery?"

"Yeah," Donnie swallowed nervously, "but it'll be OK, don't worry. I'll take care of it. You're going to be OK."

Mikey relaxed and blinked sluggishly, processing the information. He was starting to drift again, but he gave Donnie a smile, "Of course I'll…I'll be OK," he breathed weakly but with confidence, "With Dr. Donnie on the job, I know it'll all be OK…" He sighed and closed his eyes, a small smile on his lips.

Donnie grinned, his little brother somehow managed to say exactly what he needed to hear. He was still nervous, but Mikey waking up, even if it was only for a few moments, helped to lift his spirits. Mikey had faith in him, they all did. He could do this.

* * *

A/N OK, so my chapters seem to be getting longer and longer. Hope y'all don't mind. More to come soon! Please let me know what you think! My muse is hungry. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far!


	4. Vigil

A/N Hi y'all! Thank you so much for sticking with me so far! Sorry for the wait, I had a hell of a time getting this chapter together, it kinda took a life of its own and ended up going through a few rewrites and hasn't quite turned out the way I wanted it to, but that's OK. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! (And those of you who favorited/alerted this story!) I'm sorry I was a little neglectful with the thank yous for the last chapter, (I have a kinda wonky and frustratingly sporadic internet connection right now) and I hope to ammend that this time around.

Anyway, here's chapter 4 (the longest chapter yet! eeps!)

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Morning had come. The sun had risen over New York City, promising a beautiful summer day. But down in the sewers, in the abandoned subway station the Turtles called home, no one was even aware of the passage of time. To them the longest night continued as they waited in limbo, waiting for a sign that the youngest member of their little mutant family was going to be all right.

Leo slept on the couch, having finally passed out from exhaustion and bloodloss. He had given all he could to Mikey, though he and Donnie both agreed it wasn't enough. Donnie refused to let him donate anymore, citing that he couldn't handle two patients. Splinter was meditating nearby, choosing to remain close to his sons rather than seek solitude like he usually did. They needed him, and he needed them. Donnie sat on the couch near Leo's head, his face buried in his trembling hands. April sat close beside him, her arm around his shoulders as she whispered words of reassurance.

"You did good," she murmured softly, her fingers gently stroking his shell, "you did good…"

Twenty-four hours ago, if someone told Donnie that he would be in such close proximity to April within day and he would hardly notice, Donnie would've told them they were crazy because April with her arms around him would be a dream come true. But now that she was there beside him, arm around him, lips so close to his face as she whispered to him, Donnie couldn't even think about his crush. All he could think about was Mikey and how close he had come to accidentally killing him.

"You should get some rest," April insisted, "You had such a long day…"

Donnie was strangely pliant as she guided him to lie down, his head resting on the pillow she placed on her lap. He was in shock, all he could see was Mikey's face, how frighteningly pale he had gotten, the panic in his eyes and the blood…so much blood. He couldn't hear April's comforting whispers, all he could hear was Mikey's strained cry of fear and pain and all he could feel was the warm droplets of blood splashing onto his face, oozing through his fingers as he tried to staunch the blood. Mikey had woken up, Donnie had accidentally nicked an artery…they almost lost him….so much blood…

"You saved him," April reminded him, as though reading his thoughts, "you saved his life. You did that. No matter what went wrong…you fixed it." She stroked his forehead with one hand, and grasped his trembling hands with the other. "He'll be OK…"

Donnie squeezed his eyes shut, and all he could see beneath his eyelids was blood. Mikey's lifeblood flowing out of him…

"He'll be OK," April soothed. "You did good…"

So much blood…

Meanwhile Raph sat vigil in Donnie's lab, keeping first watch over Mikey. The door was open so he could see the others and Raph shook his head, not liking how pale both Leo and Donnie were. He worried about them all. It was unnerving to see Mikey so still, so white. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his chest and the weak pulse that thrummed under his fingers as he held onto Mikey's wrist like a lifeline, Raph would think he was dead.

And Leo looked drained. Literally. It wasn't fair. Raph had always assumed they all had the same blood type, not that he really thought about it before. It would've been easier on Mike and Leo if they were and maybe Raph wouldn't have felt so useless. And it would've taken a lot off of Donnie's shoulders if he didn't have to worry about possibly sacrificing one brother to save the other. Leo was almost as white as Mikey, and Raph would've gladly shared the burden if he could. Then at the very least Leo wouldn't have had to give too much.

And Donnie…Raph didn't know exactly what went down earlier, but it was unsettling to see Donnie emerge from the lab looking like a ghost. He was practically catatonic. Whatever happened, it must've been really bad to have Donnie so freaked out.

"He's still alive," was all Donnie seemed able to say, and he said it as though he could hardly believe it. He had looked ready to collapse. Splinter had guided him to the couch, emphasizing how proud he was of him as Raph had rushed into the lab to see for himself.

April had taken it upon herself to look after a shell-shocked Donnie while Splinter tended to Leo and to see her like she was, with her arms around him and seeing no reaction from Donnie, it just felt…wrong. Donnie should've been milking it for it was worth, but he hardly seemed aware that anyone was there comforting him, let alone his crush.

Raph regarded Splinter as he meditated, and it occurred to him that not even Master Splinter was very focused on his meditation. He still seemed acutely aware of everyone in the lair and when he opened his eyes suddenly, to look across the room and into the lab to meet Raph's gaze, Raph somehow understood his purpose. Raph nodded to him and Splinter nodded back, closing his eyes and returned to meditating.

When Donnie was fixing Mikey, Raph had felt so useless. He was the odd turtle out. He had wanted to help, but if he tried, he would've only been in the way. And it killed him to be on the outside, knowing something was wrong and being the only one in his family who couldn't be there. Even April had a purpose when she brought the supplies Donnie had needed. But now, April had done her job, Donnie and Splinter and Leo had all done their job in helping Mikey, they had all served their purpose and now it was Raph's turn. It wasn't much, but that was OK.

_Rest guys, I got your backs,_ he thought, looking at his little family with fondness. _I'll watch over Mikey, I'll take it from here. I'll look after him._

Looking down at Mikey, Raph took in every visible cut, every bruise and the stark white bandages covering his shoulder and the bulk under the covers where his swollen knee was wrapped and elevated and listened closely to his shallow breathing. In and out.

"How is it that you always manage to get yourself into trouble?" he asked softly. Not letting go of his wrist he sighed, leaning back in the chair, closing his eyes tiredly. "Well, never again I can tell you that. Anyone ever tries to hurt you again, they have to come through me. I swear it Mikey."

April glanced his way and she gave him a small smile. Donnie had fallen asleep, his head on her lap and she carefully slid out from under him. She stood up, stretched and headed his way, stopping at the threshold of the door, "Mind if I join you?" she asked softly.

Raph nodded, but aside from a quick glance her way, he didn't take his eyes off Mikey.

She pulled up a chair and sat beside him, "You doing OK?"

"No," Raph muttered, his expression grim.

"Didn't think so," she mused. There was a few moments of silence before April spoke again, "You look exhausted, Raph…"

Raph bristled at that statement and without taking his eyes of Mikey he replied, his voice low and dangerous, "If you're suggesting that you watch over Mikey while I get some rest, if you think that's a good idea you're sorely mistaken. My place is here, to watch over my brothers. I failed Mikey tonight and now he's hurt and there was nothing I could do to help. Donnie and Leo did their part, now it's my turn. It's my place, it's my purpose and you're not going to take that away from me."

"Woah, where did that come from?" April raised her hands defensively, "That wasn't what I was going to say at all. I just…what I mean is…it's…it's been a long night."

"Yeah," Raph sighed, sparing her a quick glance, "Sorry. I'm just a little on edge right now."

"I know, and it's OK, I don't blame you," April said softly. "I was just thinking maybe you might want some coffee or tea?"

The corner of Raph's mouth curled into a grim smile, "Coffee would be great actually, thanks. Black."

"No problem," April replied, "I'll be right back." With that she left and Raph breathed a sigh.

_Long night indeed…_ He stared at his injured brother and his mind wandered, taking him back to earlier that night.

It had been a long night for everyone. April had arrived two hours after Splinter called, hands full of supplies. Most of what she had brought included painkillers, medicine and bandages, but also a six pack of Gatorade for Leo, because Donnie told him he needed the electrolytes, and a few other various items. She had also gone the extra mile to procure some antibiotics by going to a doctor and faking illness, which explained why it took so long for her to arrive. They weren't as powerful as Donnie had been hoping for, but considering he was doubtful she would be able to get any at all, he was grateful for them all the same.

April was shocked when she saw Mikey and insisted she stayed until she knew he would be all right, offering to help in any way she could. There wasn't much for her to do, but the moral support was enough. She sat with Raph and Leo as Donnie reviewed his textbooks and watched some videos online of similar surgeries he found after hacking onto the University Hospital's student website, and Splinter tended to Mikey, bandaging his various wounds and monitoring his vitals.

"So what happened to him anyway?" she had asked.

"You know about as much as we do," Leo sighed, shaking his head.

No one said much of anything after that.

After a while Donnie put his laptop away, looking a little nauseated. He took a deep breath and joined April and his brothers, "How are you feeling Leo?"

"Better," Leo replied as Donnie took his wrist and checked his pulse, "I think I'm ready to go another round if necessary."

Donnie nodded in agreement, "Though let's hope it won't be necessary."

"So what now, boss?" Leo asked.

Donnie took a deep breath, clearly not liking being in charge, not liking the burden on his shoulders one bit. "OK, I think it's time."

"You ready?" Raph asked.

Donnie chuckled nervously, "No, but the longer we wait…I mean, the sooner we…I… do this the better." He started to babble about what he had been doing to prepare and what could go wrong, Raph kind of tuned it out. He really didn't want to know. "Hopefully this will go smoothly, I mean, it should because it's pretty straightforward, at least it should be but then again, there's always a possibility that the bullet…"

April smiled as Donnie ramblings started to become more and more incoherent. She rose to her feet and put her hands on his shoulders, her eyes meeting his and interrupted his anxiety filled ramblings, "Mikey's going to be OK. I know you can do this."

"I hope so," Donnie blushed. He shook his head as though trying to shake off his nerves, "OK, you guys wait here. The less distractions I have in there the better. If…if anything changes…if anything…If I need you Leo, and I hope I don't, I'll get you."

"OK," Leo replied.

Donnie disappeared into his lab, Raph heard him talking quietly to Splinter as the door closed behind him. April turned to Raph and Leo, "He'll be all right."

They had nodded readily in agreement but all refused to look each other in the eye, lest their eyes betray their worry and doubt.

0-0-0

It wasn't long after Donnie left that Raph had taken to pacing. One of his brothers was hurt badly, worse than he had ever seen before, and there was nothing he could've done to prevent it, and nothing he could do to fix it. It drove him crazy. Leo had asked him to sit down, suggested meditating but Raph couldn't do that. He was about action, not reflection. Not waiting around calmly to find out if his little brother was going to be OK.

April had found "Space Heroes Three" on TV and she and Leo were pretending to watch. April looked worried and deep in thought, Leo however looked exhausted. Raph couldn't blame him for that. He could only imagine how tired Leo must've been to have donated so much blood. He might've recovered enough for Donnie's liking, but it was clear that it had taken its toll on him.

"You should seriously try and get some more rest," Raph sighed, sounding almost irritated.

"I'm fine," Leo replied curtly.

"Yeah well, I'm getting tired just watching you try and keep your eyes open," Raph frowned, but he didn't push it any further and other than a dirty look, Leo didn't either. Truth was he was jealous. If only their roles could be switched, then Raph wouldn't have had to worry about two brothers and he wouldn't have had to feel so damn useless.

_When I get my hands on the bastard that shot my brother…_ he thought bitterly, wishing he could go topside and hunt the guy down right then and there. At least then he'd be actively contributing to helping Mikey. The guy would get his due, as would the others who beat him, but Raph was feeling a little impatient. He looked down at his clenched fists and was suddenly struck with guilt.

_This wouldn't have happened if I wasn't being such a jerk…_he thought, recalling how mean he was to Mikey just before he left to go skateboarding. In hindsight, some of the things he said was uncalled for, even though it wasn't any different than his usual teasing. Mikey might have been acting like a brat as usual, but this time around he was still hurting from the whole Bradford incident and Raph knew that when Mikey was hurting, he really didn't want to be alone if he could help it. He should have been more considerate of that, he should've noticed. Instead he told him to go away. He just…wasn't thinking.

And then they let him go off on his own? So soon after Bradford nabbed him? He should have been more…protective. He should've kept a closer eye on him. He should've insisted Mikey stay in their sights, at least until the sting of what happened with Bradford had worn off. Mikey didn't want to be alone. He shouldn't have driven him away like that.

A sudden commotion from Donnie's lab stopped Raph's pacing in his tracks. He exchanged panicked looks with Leo and April and started for the door as the others jumped to their feet. From inside he could hear Mikey crying in agony and Splinter trying to calm him down.

"Leo!" Donnie called desperately, his voice nothing but raw panic.

Leo didn't hesitate, he ran into the lab, Raph following on his heels, but the door was slammed in his face.

"Damn it!" Raph cursed, wanting nothing more than to be in there helping, but knowing that he would only get in the way. He felt a hand gently touch his shoulder and he twirled around dangerously to see April looking at him, her eyes wide in fear and concern. She backed up a step and Raph softened his stance, realizing how threatening he must've looked.

"It's going to be OK," April said meekly.

Raph wanted to believe her, but how could things be OK when something clearly went wrong and here he was, out of the loop, on the outside and so damn useless? Every instinct told him to be with his brothers, but what good would that do? It wouldn't help. He met her gaze and wordlessly revealed how helpless he felt, how angry that made him and how grateful he was to have April there.

And then he ran.

He didn't go far, but he sought refuge in the dojo. He vaguely was aware of the fact that April didn't follow him, a wise move. He grabbed his sais and slashed at the practice dummies, destroying them. When they fell he took to kicking them and tossing them across the floor. He didn't know what was going on, what went wrong and not knowing killed him. He pounded his punching bag with the blunt end of his sais over and over and over again, until that too fell to the ground where he fell to his knees and slashed it open.

Master Splinter was going to be pissed when he saw the damage Raph inflicted on the dojo, but at the time he didn't care. He still didn't care, looking back. He could clean the mess up later, it was fixable.

Soon he had worn himself out and he pressed his forehead to the floor, growling and pounding his fists to the ground in frustration and anger. It had occurred to him that Mikey could die, he had refused to acknowledge the possibility until then, and not knowing what was going on only made it feel that much more real.

He shook his head in denial, because he knew that whatever went wrong, Donnie could fix it. He had absolute faith in his brother. He just had to hold onto that. It would've done no good to jump to conclusions and assume the worst.

Time passed and eventually he calmed down enough to rejoin April. She spared him a small, sympathetic smile but thankfully said nothing. She seemed to have understood that Raph wasn't in the mood for talking, at least not while everything was so uncertain.

When Donnie finally emerged, looking completely shell-shocked announcing that the bullet was out and Mikey was still alive, Raph released a breath he wasn't even aware he was holding, a sigh of relief.

"Now all you gotta do is wake up and get better, buddy," Raph murmured, giving Mikey's lifeless hand a squeeze as April returned with two cups of coffee and handed one of them to him.

"Thanks," he said accepting the coffee gratefully as April sat down beside him. The hot liquid tasted strong and bitter as it made its way down his throat, but it was exactly the way he liked it. Splinter wasn't too impressed when Raph started to prefer coffee over the tea they were practically raised on, and Leo couldn't understand how he could like it black, but he didn't care what they thought.

"I hope you don't mind the company," April said.

Raph just shrugged, but he didn't mind at all. He was grateful for it.

He noticed Splinter had gotten up and headed towards the dojo. Raph put the coffee down and jumped to his feet and peered out the door and saw Splitner pause at the threshold of the dojo. He turned to look Raph's way, and to his surprise gave him a nod of understanding before slipping quietly into the dojo. He knew Splinter was going to confront him about the damage he had done sooner or later, but for now Raph was off the hook.

He returned to his spot at Mikey's side and sat down, clasping his hands together, leaning forward in silence, listening to his little brother breathe.

0-0-0

Leo blinked open his eyes, the sound of his brother in distress pulling him from sleep. He sat up and looked towards the sound and saw Donnie lying on the couch a couple of feet away from him, curled on his side, mumbling in his sleep. Leo squeezed his eyes shut when the lair seemed to spin and dots flashed in his vision, and he inhaled, waiting for the dizziness to pass.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…." Donnie whimpered, "I did everything I could…"

That got Leo's heart to suddenly leap in his chest and he reached for him, "Donnie, wake up! What did you say?"

"Mikey!" Donnie gasped, his eyes snapping open. He breathed heavily as he sat up and gathered his bearings.

"Donnie?"

Donnie glanced at Leo, and he could practically see the gears turning in his head as he looked Leo up and down. He ran his hands down his face, rubbing his eyes and turned towards the open door of the lab. Leo followed his gaze and saw Raph, who had positioned himself next to Mikey at such an angle that he had a clear view of them as well. Raph met their gazes and gave them a small grin and Donnie responded by visibly relaxing with a deep sigh. "Just a dream…" he murmured.

"It's about time you two woke up," Raph said.

"You OK Donnnie?" Leo asked, noticing that Donnie was trembling slightly.

"Yeah," he replied, "I just…I dreamt that I…killed him."

"But you didn't," Leo reminded him.

"I know," he said quietly, "but…"

"You saved him."

Donnie gave him a weak smile and then said, "You're looking better. How are you feeling?"

"Better."

"Not dizzy? Nauseous?"

"A little," Leo admitted, "but better. Come on," he unsteadily rose to his feet and Donnie stood, grasping him by the arm in support. But Leo couldn't help but feel like they were supporting each other as they crossed the room to join Raph.

"How's Mikey doing? Any change?" Donnie asked, immediately going into doctor mode, checking him over.

Raph shook his head, "Not really. It just seems so wrong to see Mikey like this."

Leo nodded thoughtfully in agreement.

"His vitals seemed to have improved," Donnie grinned tiredly, the relief evident on his face. Leo and Raph both took that as a good sign.

"So when is he going to wake up?" Raph asked, almost impatiently.

"Don't know," Donnie shrugged, "Anytime I suppose, but I expect he'll be out of it for a while."

Leo glanced around, blinking back dizziness, "So where's April? Did she finally head home for some sleep?" He was touched that their new human friend had insisted on staying by their side in support, but he couldn't blame her if she needed to go home.

Raph snorted in amusement, "Actually, she just went to get us some lunch."

"Lunch?" Donnie queried, "Isn't it a little early for..."

"It's half past noon," Raph told him and Leo watched Donnie's eyes dart to the clock in surprise. Leo could hardly believe how much time had passed either. Raph yawned, "You two knuckleheads have been sleeping for a while. Leo, sit down before you fall down." Raph jumped out of his seat and moved to physically force Leo to sit down.

Leo allowed it, since he still felt a little weak. It was good to sit down and he leaned forward resting his elbows on the table, focusing his attention on his injured brother, tuning out whatever Donnie and Raph said after that. Mikey looked like hell, but it was better than last time he saw him.

He blinked and flinched as he remembered watching Donnie frantically trying to staunch the blood as it pulsed from the wound on his shoulder. He could still vividly recall the look of pure terror and confusion in Mikey's eyes as Splinter tried to calm him down, resorting to knocking him out by expertly striking the right pressure points. Without access to a proper anesthesia, Donnie had given Mikey some sleeping pills, but apparently that wasn't enough to keep him unconscious for the surgery. Apparently his waking caused his body to jerk suddenly, which led to Donnie accidentally nicking an artery. That was when Leo was called in.

It was the most terrifying thing Leo had ever witnessed. There was even a moment where Leo thought they might have lost him, and maybe they did for a moment or two, but he didn't know for certain. Leo marvelled at how Donnie, despite his obvious and rightful worry and panic managed to keep it together throughout it all. He was still able to bark orders at Master Splinter and Leo and keep control over the crisis and it wasn't until the damned bullet was out and Donnie had tied off the last stitch that he allowed himself to fall apart. Judging by how traumatized Donnie seemed, after it was all over, Leo suspected that Mikey had a much closer call than he would ever have liked to admit.

"Leo?" Raph called, snapping him out of his reverie, "Ground control to Major Leo…"

"Hmm?"

"You OK?"

Leo nodded but didn't meet his brother's prying gaze.

"You spaced out for a second," Raph frowned.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his forehead and another grab his wrist and he saw Donnie checking him over. He pulled away indignantly, "Guys relax, I'm fine."

"Just needed to make sure," Donnie said quietly, "You lost a lot of blood too you know."

"I know," Leo huffed, "you don't need to remind me!" He realized how rude he sounded and he sighed, "Sorry." Realizing that he snapped his apology he tried again, softer this time, "Sorry. I was just thinking about Mikey."

"Don't sweat it," Donnie nodded in understanding, "I think we're all on edge thinking about Mikey."

"He going to be OK?" Raph asked Donnie, "Like, for sure?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure he's out of danger," Donnie replied, "but he'll be out of commission for a while and I don't know if his shoulder will ever fully heal. The bullet had lodged into the bone, and I had to remove a few bone fragments. It shouldn't affect his range of motion, but I wouldn't be surprised if he'll have chronic pain to deal with. And of course he'll have to have physio on his shoulder and his knee for at least a few weeks, maybe more."

"That's gonna be fun," Raph snorted sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Raph!" Leo scolded.

"What?" he retorted, folding his arms, "I was just saying what we're all thinking. Mikey's going to be laid up for a while, and that means we're going to have to deal with a bored Mikey for the next few weeks and you know how he gets when he's bored."

Leo had to agree that he had a point, but still… "That's a horrible thing to be concerned about right now."

"Hey if the Boy Genius says Mikey's going to make it then that's all that matters," Raph said in defense, "Don't get me wrong. I'll gladly look after a bored, laid up Mikey any day over the alternative!"

Leo shuddered at the thought of losing Mikey, and how close they came to seeing firsthand the alternative. Vertigo washed over him and he blinked, he could see very clearly that horrifying moment when it seemed like Mikey…_ He almost died…right there in front of us._ The thought stole his breath away for a moment and he felt as though a weight heavier than he could carry suddenly pressed down on his shoulders. _ What would we have done if…if…._

Raph seemed to sense his distress and he stepped forward, his eyes showing his concern darting back and forth between his brothers, "Leo? Donnie?"

Leo nodded, affirming that he was all right and saw that Donnie's mind had also brought him back to that moment the way he shuddered. "I know," he said quietly, "I'm sorry. I know…"

"What happened earlier?" Raph cut in, "Something had gone wrong, what?"

"You don't want to know," Donnie said quietly, bowing his head in exhaustion.

"Maybe, but I need to know," Raph insisted.

"Raph…" Leo sighed. _You're lucky you didn't have to be there and see…_

"Dammit Leo," Raphael hissed, "Come on, don't leave me out of this! I know something bad happened that had you both freaked out! Donnie was practically catatonic earlier. I mean, April had you in her arms, you fell asleep in her lap and you didn't even seem aware of it, Donnie! You know how scary that was? You both came out looking like ghosts and I had no idea what happened or what to do!"

Donnie's head snapped up and he blushed, "Wait, what? I fell asleep in April's _lap_? She had her arms around _me_?"

There was something so unexpectedly and unintentionally comical about Donnie's reaction to such a tense, serious moment that all three of them stopped and exchanged glances. Then Raph suddenly barked in laughter. Donnie gaped at him incredulously but then he too started to laugh. Leo looked at them both like they were crazy and was about to say something but Leo could physically feel the tension leave the air and suddenly he too found himself laughing.

It occurred to Leo that Mikey would've said or done something completely ridiculous by now to ease the tension and even as he was caught up in uncontrollable laughter, the thought made Leo almost want to cry. Heck, maybe that was why they were all laughing in the first place because Leo was pretty sure that if he wasn't laughing he might've burst into very un-manly tears.

Mikey was going to more or less be OK; that was what mattered. They didn't have to worry anymore.

From the table Mikey moaned and all at once the laughter stopped.

"Mikey?" Leo gasped.

Mikey twitched slightly, but showed no signs of stirring anytime soon.

They watched him in silence for a moment, watched him wince in pain before relaxing again. Once again he was still and silent and while it was like a weight had been lifted, the tension was back.

"I say we make a pact," Raph said finally, breaking the silence his tone thoughtful and serious. Leo and Donnie turned to him, waiting for him to continue. "Mikey seems to know how to get himself in trouble, he always has. We all know that." Leo and Donnie both nodded in agreement, and Raph continued, "It was hard enough keeping him out of trouble when we were confined to the sewers, but now that we're going topside, and there's all that crap going on out there, the Kraang, Bradford, the Shredder, the Foot Ninjas and those assholes who hurt him last night… we need to make sure this doesn't happen again."

"Agreed," Leo stated with a firm nod.

"He's just too…I don't know, too innocent, too trusting and too…eager!" Raph sighed in frustration.

"He jumps in without thinking," Donnie added.

"And he lacks focus, he's always getting into something," Leo glanced at his injured little brother as he spoke, a pang of guilt and pain tugged at his heart. He shouldn't have allowed Mikey to go off on his own.

"Which is why we need to promise that we'll always protect him, I mean, I know we all have each other's backs, and he has ours, that's a given. But…Mikey…he…I don't know, he probably wouldn't have gone off on his own in the first place if he wasn't already hurting and…he…we've gotta…" Raph's voice trailed off and he sighed, shoulders drooping as though in defeat, unable to properly articulate what he wanted to say.

Leo smiled, he understood and agreed completely, "Say no more." Out of them all, Mikey seemed to be the most vulnerable. It wasn't just about what happened last night, though it played a big part, but Bradford too. And people like him. People that would use him, betray him, hurt him. As they grew older, Mikey somehow managed to preserve his childlike innocence and naivety, and while it was a quality that Leo admired, because it helped Mikey approach life with a gleeful optimism, it also made the sting of betrayal and disappointment hurt that much more.

Silently Leo, Raph and Donnie agreed that while they all protected each other without question anyway, they would give extra care to protect Mikey. Out of all of them, Mikey seemed to be the one who needed it the most. They weren't going to let him get hurt again, physically or emotionally, not if they could help it.

They all nodded in unison, decision made. To seal the deal they fist-bumped each other at once. There was an unspoken agreement that this pact was between the three of them alone. They would not mention it to Mikey or Splinter or anyone.

Leo smiled at his brothers, he could see in Raph and Donnie's eyes that they were on the same page and he felt a strange kind of warmth wrap around him. It energized him and humbled him and it seemed to permeate in the air. Leo knew that the bond he and his brothers all shared was special and rare and at that moment it was as though they were one. This kind of connection didn't happen all the time, but when it did, it was a powerful thing.

They all turned their attention to Mikey as he groaned softly in his slumber.

Splinter joined them a few minutes later and sat with them. Leo couldn't tell if Splinter knew of their secret pact, but he could sense that Splinter was aware of the shift of energy in the room.

April arrived twenty minutes later with pizza and it wasn't until the smell of pepperoni reached his nose that Leo realized how hungry he was. They all were.

"Th-thank you so much, April," Donnie said, stammering slightly, unable to keep from blushing, "you've done so much for us." Leo smiled as Raph snickered at Donnie's awkward display of gratitude.

"Hey, what are friends for?" April asked with a smile. She regarded them all carefully and if Leo didn't know better he would say she knew that something different was in the air.

Despite his hunger, Leo ate his slice of pizza slowly as he watched Mikey sleep. He blinked away the frightening images of earlier, all the blood and terror, and tried to focus on the fact that the crisis was over. Mikey was going to be OK. He wasn't bleeding out on the table, clinging to life, he was on the road to healing and recovery and he was going to be OK.

He could hear the others talking quietly in the background, but Leo tuned them out. Mostly they were discussing Mikey's condition, but nothing that Leo didn't already know. Leo sat in contemplation a few moments, reflecting on the events of the longest night of their lives when Mikey moaned softly. Everyone stopped. Mikey mumbled something in his sleep and Leo had to lean in close to hear but his words were inaudible, jumbled and made little sense. All he could make out was something about…saying grace?

He watched as Mikey shifted, wincing in pain. Then he frowned as though confused and sniffed the air.

Slowly he blinked open his eyes and murmured softly, "Do I smell pizza?"

* * *

A/N Hey look! A chapter that _doesn't_ end with Mikey unconscious! Thanks for reading! It's so much fun getting into the heads of these awesome characters. I hope I'm still managing to keep everyone in character and that this chapter was OK. I think the ending is a little cheesy, (no pun intended?) it didn't quite turn out like I hoped, (seriously I had a heck of a time figuring out how to finish this chapter!) but at least it reconciles Leo's line in "New Girl In Town" about how reviving Mikey through pizza "works every time", right?

There's still a lot more to come! Hope you stick with me on this journey and don't forget to tell me what you think! Any feedback good or bad is more than welcome!

Until next time! TTFN!


	5. Dreams

A/N Hi y'all! So sorry to keep you waiting! Real life got busier than anticipated and my muse has been nagging me to focus more on my other story, "Downward Spiral" and I struggled with this chapter. A lot.

Thanks to everyone who has read/favorited/followed and especially reviewed this fic! Special shout out to Elileo who has introduced me to her amazing artwork and the wonderful world of deviantart and HikariFighter who gave me the craziest, randomest awesomest sugar induced review ever! Though every review I've recieved has been cherished and made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I truly appreciate the feedback.

I'll try to get the next chapter up soon! In the meantime...enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Five**

_Mikey was having the trippiest of dreams. Trippy didn't even begin to describe the weirdness of it. First he was flying like a bird and a hunter shot him down. He rescued an angel, and she kissed him goodbye. Then Donnie stabbed him, twisting the knife and he screamed in agony while Master Splinter spoke softly to him before striking him down and he fell into a kaleidoscope of different shades of red. _

_The next thing he knew he was floating. _

_The floating dream was the trippiest part. He saw himself, lying on a table, he saw Donnie stabbing him, and Splinter did nothing to stop him. Leo was there looking sad and worried but he too did nothing. He saw that April was sobbing in the living room and Raph was in the dojo, fighting an army of training dummies. He floated out of the lair and found himself in the streets of New York. People were walking all around him, but no one noticed him. He floated higher and higher until he was looking down at the skyline. The Statue of Liberty's torch glowed, burning like a beacon calling him closer. The light glowed brighter, casting its brilliant shine over the city and it was so beautiful that he couldn't look away. _

_He reached for the light and it pulsed, it's shine glowing brighter, engulfing him in its brilliance._

Come on, Mikey, don't do this! Come back to me!

_It was Donnie's voice. He sounded terrified and even though Donnie hurt him, he couldn't deny his brother. He knew Donnie wouldn't hurt him on purpose, there had to have been a good reason… _Coming Donnie…_ With a sad reluctance he abandoned the light and sank down, down, down…_

_Then the dream shifted and he was in a world of pain as he lay bleeding in an ally. _

What the fuck? Is the circus in town? Hey buddy, Halloween's in October dumbass!

Why would someone like me want to be friends with a freak like you?

_He didn't recognize the first voice, though it was painfully familiar but he knew the second voice that echoed in his head. Chris Bradford. Mikey turned to the voice and saw his former friend look down at him and sneer. He stepped down on his shoulder and he cried out in pain. Donnie, Leo and Raph appeared behind him and Mikey sighed in relief but then they looked down at him and scowled. _

Don't you have anything better to do?

_Leo?_

We don't care what you do, just annoy someone else…

_Raph?_

Go away Mikey, can't you see I'm busy?

_Donnie?_

_Bradford disappeared and Donnie knelt beside him and jabbed a knife into his shoulder while the others held him down. _

_He screamed. _

_His brothers vanished and he felt a light touch of silk on his shoulder and the pain subsided. He looked over and saw the angel. She smiled at him._

Why would I be afraid of you?

My name's Grace…

You have a kind voice…

You saved my life, I don't care what you are.

Come back so I know you're OK…

_She faded from view and was replaced by his brothers. This time they were looking at him not in anger or hate, but worry. They ally dissolved and he found himself somewhere warm and safe._

I say we make a pact…

_Raph._

Agreed.

_Leo. Donnie._

_Donnie nodded and the three of them bumped their fists together and when they did they seemed to glow. Golden tendrils of energy swirled into the air and wrapped around him like a cocoon and Mikey felt warm and loved. Just beyond them standing in the background were Splinter and April, and behind them was a girl and her dog. He whispered her name…_

Grace…

S_he smiled._

Thank you so much Mikey, for all that you've done for me.

_Soon everyone vanished like a vapor and he was alone. _

_The pain was back. _

Guys? Come back! Don't leave me alone!

_Suddenly he realized that he wasn't alone after all. He couldn't see them, but he felt his family was near. Their invisible presence was all around him and a warm inviting scent wafted in the air…it was familiar…it smelled a little like…like…_

"Do I smell…pizza?"

0-0-0

Mikey blinked in confusion, his eyes looking around the room…_Donnie's lab? _and saw everyone looking down at him with love, worry and amusement. He frowned because he couldn't quite figure out what was funny.

It took him a moment to realize he was awake because he had been having the trippiest dream and he felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

He groaned and tried to move but his body screamed in protest and Leo gently placed his hand on his uninjured shoulder, "Lie still," he said, gently pushing him down.

Feeling weak as a newborn kitten Mikey didn't have the energy to try to move much anyway and he released an involuntary whimper because trying to move hurt like hell. His eyes drifted to the piece of pizza in Leo's hand and he frowned, still a little confused.

_You had pizza without me? I hope you saved me a slice…_

He blinked, his eyelids feeling heavy. When he opened them again Donnie was in view, and for reasons Mikey couldn't explain, he flinched when Donnie reached for his neck. Donnie pulled his hand back, eyes wide, like he had just been burned.

"Mikey? You OK?"

Mikey glanced blearily towards the sound of Raph's voice.

"I-I just need to check your vitals," Donnie stammered, "is that OK?"

"Of course," Mikey replied, his voice hoarse. He had complete trust in his brothers, so he really didn't understand why he flinched. It was like a knee-jerk reaction to a distant memory. He relaxed and let Donnie check him over as he closed his eyes.

He could hear his brothers talking to him, but their voiced faded as he found himself falling into a dark abyss.

0-0-0

The next time Mikey woke up he was slightly more aware, though everything seemed fuzzy and uncomfortably hot and sticky. One side of his face felt funny, like it was three times larger than the other side and the way it throbbed he figured maybe it was. His entire body ached, his leg throbbed at the knee, and his shoulder felt like it was on fire but his fingers on that hand tingled with the pins and needles sensation that came when feeling was returning after numbness.

He groaned and opened his eyes, aware this time that one eye felt too swollen and heavy to open properly. He saw Master Splinter standing over him, and he placed a gentle hand on Mikey's forearm, "Michelangelo," he said softly, his voice conveying pure relief.

Glancing around the room he noticed that it was just the two of them in the room this time. "Master Splinter?" he whispered hoarsely, "Wh—" he cleared his throat with a wince.

Sensing what he was asking Splinter smiled, "It's late and your brothers are sleeping. You've been asleep for almost two days, my son." Splinter's hand left Mikey's arm to gently rest on his forehead. His hand felt cool to the touch and he leaned slightly into his Sensei's palm as Splinter softly stroked his head, his smile dissolving into a frown. He looked slightly troubled as he moved his hand away and shook some pills into his hand, "You need to take this," he told him, setting the bottle of pills down and sliding his arm under his neck to gingerly help him sit up. The movement sent waves of pain through his body and he whimpered but Splinter was gentle and soothed, "Easy Michelangelo, breathe through the pain. You can relax in a moment."

As his Sensei spoke Mikey could see something in his eyes that troubled him. Splinter was typically stoic and hard to read and only revealed what he wanted to reveal. But while Mikey saw relief and joy, he could also see fear in his eyes and…and… had he been crying?

"Y'OK Sensei?" he asked weakly.

Splinter lifted his brows in surprise and he gave him a genuine smile. "I am now," he replied simply as he reached for a nearby glass of water. He held him upright, almost in a hug as Mikey shakily took the pills.

His head felt fuzzy and after Splinter eased him back into his pillow, he closed his eyes and grinned his thanks and then he was out.

0-0-0

The next few times he woke up, it was mostly a blur. He would later learn that his wound had become infected and he battled a high fever for a good two more days before it subsided. He didn't remember much of those times, but he remembered that every time he woke there was always someone there with him.

He had a lot of weird dreams too. He didn't have the weird floating dream again, though it stuck out in his memory, as did the one with Donnie stabbing him. Those were the ones that felt the most vivid and real and they left him feeling empty and strange whenever he thought of them. He might have dreamt of them as a memory but he wasn't sure. Most of his dreams faded away into oblivion the moment he woke up, but the emotions they left him with lingered. Sometimes they were good, but more often than not they were bad and had him practically in tears. When those dreams came along, it was like a dark shadow had wrapped around him, dragging him into a state of hopelessness and despair.

He was grateful that at least one of his brothers was always there to chase the darkness away as they whispered words of comfort while coaxing pills down his throat. They probably had no idea how profoundly their presence protected him from the things unseen that tried to drag him under.

Eventually his fever had broken and he was able to stay awake longer than a few minutes. He was still pretty out of it, and far too exhausted to do much, but after another day of rest his head felt clear enough that he was finally able to tell everyone what they wanted to know.

With his brothers and his beloved Sensei in the room with him, it was almost like the dark void that haunted him during the worst of his fever never existed. Almost. And even though his body hurt like crazy and he still had a long way to go before he was better, he felt more like himself than he had been in days.

"So what happened?" Raph demanded, sounding harsher than Mikey knew he intended to, his eyes angry and cold. Leo shot him a look and Raph shrugged, but his expression softened. However, Mikey knew the anger wasn't directed at him or anyone in the room. Raph was looking for retribution and Mikey guessed that he was tired of waiting.

The funniest part was Leo wore a similar expression, despite wordlessly scolding Raph for looking so harsh. And when Leo said, "Go ahead, Mikey, any time," in almost the exact tone as Raph, he couldn't help but snicker at the irony, and when their expressions changed to puzzlement, he giggled harder and they looked at him like he grew an extra head.

The thing was, even though it really wasn't _that _funny, he needed to laugh. It was the best way to chase away the darkness, and besides, he got the feeling that his brothers needed it even more than he did.

Donnie stepped forward and felt his forehead, a quizzical look on his face, "His fever's pretty much gone so I don't think he's delirious…Raph how many pills did you give him?"

"What? I followed the dosage _you_ told me to give him!"

"The yellow and red capsules right? Not the white ones…"

"Of course the yellow and red ones! What do I look like an idiot?"

This made Mikey laugh harder, even though it hurt, "Dudes, you're the best bros a turtle could ask for! If you could see yourselves right now…you don't even realize how funny you are!"

They exchanged confused glances but then they smiled, Raph chuckled under his breath and said, "It's good to have you back, Knucklehead."

_Mission accomplished…_ Mikey thought as he stopped laughing and instead smiled at them all brightly. "Good to be back," he replied.

"So what happened?" Leo asked after a moment and Mikey sighed.

Just like that, the darkness was back, he could practically see it, encroaching upon the room. So was the pain. It had been almost tolerable, thanks to the pain medication Donnie had given him before he fell asleep earlier, but it was starting to wear off.

"Well…" he started, closing his eyes with a wince, "I was on my way to my favorite skateboarding tunnel, but I heard a noise above…I climbed up to check it out…it was a girl and her dog and these guys were attacking her."

"You went topside? Alone? What were you thinking?" Raph exclaimed. Leo and Donnie wordlessly echoed him, their body language tensing and eyes narrowing.

"Raphael," Splinter admonished, using that tone that could convey a thousand words. It was gentle, yet stern, and Mikey knew that even as he reprimanded Raph for the accusation, Mikey knew he thought the same thing. But Master Splinter was fair, and rarely was quick to judge.

"You would've done the same thing," Mikey retorted, looking Raph in the eye, "heck, isn't that how we met April?" he turned to Donnie and then to Leo, "She needed my help."

"Why didn't you come and get us?" Raph frowned.

"What good would that do? It would've been too late!" Mikey exclaimed, "They weren't trying to kidnap her so we could rescue her later, they were going to ra—do something awful and sickening to her." He shuddered at the thought of what could've happened to Grace if he wasn't there. "You would've done the same thing and I would do it again if I had to."

Splinter sighed, he seemed conflicted. "You did the right thing, Michelangelo. Please understand that our objections are only out of concern. You scared us all."

"I know," Mikey replied softly, "and I'm sorry. I scared myself." He closed his eyes and winced, remembering. His shoulder twinged at the memory of getting shot and he subconsciously reached and grasped it.

"Mikey, you OK?" Donnie asked.

He nodded, "Yeah…" he took a deep breath and continued. "There were five of them in total. Th-they all had weapons and knew how to use them…"

"Who were they? Do we know? Have we seen them before?" Raph practically growled.

"I…I don't know. Some street gang I guess. They weren't trained or disciplined in any fighting style like we were… but they were still strong and knew what they were doing. I'm sorry, I tried to fight them off but I…" he shivered, wincing as the pain throbbed with more and more ferocity than before, "I should've been able to take them but then I totally landed wrong on my leg and then my knee couldn't support my weight anymore and then it all kinda fell apart… and then after I…you know…" he vaguely gestured to his shoulder. He winced, "They got away."

"What about the girl?" Leo asked.

"She's OK, she's safe," he said quietly, a happy but tired smile on his face, marred only by the bruises and swelling and the lines of pain around his eyes.

"Should we…I don't know, be worried about…y'know…" Raph gestured around the room and at everyone in it.

"You worried that she'll tell everyone about me, about us?" Mikey queried, the thought not even occurring to him. He saved her, and she protected him from being discovered by others. He saw no reason why he shouldn't trust her and felt a little offended that they'd worry even a little bit considering how easily everyone trusted April.

His offense must've shown because Raph stiffened and his frown deepened. He opened his mouth to say something but Leo spoke before he could.

"It's a fair question Mikey."

"We have enough to deal with without somehow ending up on the cover of tabloids or the six o'clock news," Raph added, shooting Leo a slight glare for interrupting. Leo just shrugged.

"Well, you don't have to worry about her. She's blind." It wasn't a lie, yet it was misleading enough that it wasn't exactly the truth either. He didn't know why he opted to keep the fact that she knew what he was despite her blindness from his family, but he did. He saw their point, but their comments rubbed him the wrong way so Mikey decided he would let them draw their own conclusions. "And the guys that attacked her…I think they thought I was wearing some costume. At least they did at…at first…" The pain in his shoulder flared again and he let out a pained gasp, grasping it tighter.

"Are you sure you're OK?" Donnie asked again.

He nodded, but the pain only intensified and he squeezed his eyes shut, his whole body tensing. He could hear his brothers talking, but he struggled to make out what they were saying. It was like a switch. One second he could handle the pain, the next it was too much.

"Donnie, where are the painkillers?" Leo asked.

"It's too soon for him to take another dose," Donnie exclaimed. "I'm not supposed to exceed one every four hours, it's only been three."

"Look at him Donnie!" Raph snapped, "he's turning white! Do something!"

"Michelangelo," Splinter's voice was suddenly right beside him and he felt his hand grasp his, "breathe. Deep breaths. Don't focus on the pain, focus on my voice."

Mikey nodded absently as he tried to do as he was asked. He could hear his brothers arguing with Donnie in the background, as Donnie tried to explain that the painkillers were very powerful and could cause more problems if Mikey took too much. _I don't care just make it go away! _He thought, feeling tears build in his eyes, _Srew the consequences!_ He took a deep breath and did his best to tune them out, listening only to Splinter as he told him gently when to breathe in and when to breathe out. He vaguely remembered Splinter coaching Raph in a similar manner when he broke his wrist last year while he and Donnie set the injury and Raph handled the pain like a pro. Mikey only wished he was tough and strong like him, maybe it would've been easier.

Meditation was never something Mikey could do very well, in fact he was awful at it. He could go through the motions, but his mind was always wandering no matter how hard he tried.

"I'm sorry Sensei," he grunted, "I c-can't…"

"Yes you can," he told him firmly, "focus."

He tried, he really, really, _really, tried, _but all he could think about was the pain, it was screaming at him for attention, much louder than Sensei's calming voice. And the darkness was encroaching, shadowy tendrils beckoning him… He forced his eyes open to meet Splinter's, _OK, OK focus on Sensei…focus…no pain, no darkness…just breathe…_

Splinter continued to try and help him, but it was no use.

_Why do I have to be so stupid?_ _ It's just breathing, it's not that hard!_

"Imagine you are somewhere else and there is no pain," Splinter tried, "Imagine that you are in a meadow. It's warm and sunny, there's a cool breeze, and you are safe and calm and relaxed…there is no pain…just breathe in and breathe out…"

Mikey tried to imagine the meadow. That was easy enough, he had a vivid imagination. He could see a vast field of grass dotted with purple and yellow wildflowers, the sun warm against his skin as he lay atop a hill. But he was also in Donnie's lab, he could hear the voices of his brothers, he could hear Splinter, he could feel everything. His wounds screamed for attention, shoulder burning in pain, fingers tingling with numbness, knee throbbing in time with his heartbeat… He was in a meadow…sun warm against his skin…darkness encroaching, casting its shadow over the meadow in Donnie's lab…

_What the fuck? Is the circus in town? Hey buddy, Halloween's in October dumbass!_

_I don't care what you do, just annoy someone else!_

_I'm sure a dodo has a higher IQ than you!_

_Go away Mikey, can't you see I'm busy?_

_Don't you have anything better to do?_

_Freakshow!_

_Why would someone like me want to be friends with a freak like you?_

He gasped, opening his eyes. There was a tightness in his chest that closed around him and filled him with sadness and longing. It made him feel empty and alone.

"Mikey?"

It was Donnie. He glanced around and saw that it was the two of them in the lab. The pain was reduced to a dull, tolerable throb and it took him a moment to realize that time had passed.

"Wha—?"

"How are you feeling?" Donnie asked, reaching to check his pulse. Without meaning to, Mikey flinched and Donnie pulled his hand back, "Do you want me to get Splinter? H-he can check on you if you'd like me to leave…"

"No, why would I…." Mikey whispered, "It's OK. I'm sorry. I trust you."

"Y-you sure?"

"Of course," Mikey murmured in confusion and Donnie reluctantly took his wrist. "Sorry…I guess I was remembering…a dream…" he stammered, wracking his brain trying to figure out what was going on. He blinked, "I dreamt it a few days ago I guess…it was kinda trippy and vivid, but…I dreamt you…" he laughed at the absurdity of it, "I dreamt you stabbed me while the others watched. But that makes no sense…"

"You woke up in the middle of surgery," Donnie blurted.

Mikey blinked, processing that information. He nodded slowly, "Oooh! That explains it."

"That's it? That's all you're going to say?" Donnie asked, raising his brow in confusion.

"What? It's not like it was your fault or anything. Sorry if I was being weird," Mikey shrugged one shoulder. He actually felt relieved by the news because the dream bothered him but now it all made sense.

A shadow seemed to cross Donnie's face as he nodded distantly, "Don't worry about it, it's OK…I…I'm sorry it happened at all."

Mikey watched him as he moved away from him to get something. He realized how scary the past few days must have been for them and that he wasn't the only one haunted by what happened. Donnie looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept in days. He probably hadn't. Mikey was pretty sure no one did except him.

Donnie returned with something small in the palm of his hand. He handed it to Mikey.

At first he was confused about the small piece of metal in his hand until Donnie said, his voice flat, "That's the bullet I had to dig outta you."

Mikey held it up to his face, holding it between two fingers and squinted, analyzing it curiously, "Really? That's it?"

"Yeah," Donnie frowned.

"Such a small thing to cause so much trouble," Mikey mused.

"It might be small, but those things can cause a lot of damage. You're lucky it was just your shoulder so it missed vital organs, but even still, that one hit an artery, and lodged into your shoulder blade," Donnie explained, "you nearly bled out on us. Twice."

His shoulder twinged and his stomach lurched at the mere thought. He frowned, and then glanced at Donnie. His brother's eyes went distant, and his body tense. Mikey wasn't very smart, but he knew when his brothers were deeply troubled and he realized that Donnie was downright traumatized. So Mikey did the only thing he knew how to fix it, despite the pain and the odd empty feeling inside, he flashed Donnie a bright smile, "But hey, you saved me! So it's all good, right?"

Donnie nodded absently, and Mikey could see he was somewhere else.

"Donnie!" Mikey called, "Dude, snap out of it! Seriously! Obviously I didn't like, bleed out or anything because I'm still here. It's all good, you saved me bro. I'm getting better thanks to you!"

Donnie blinked a couple of times and visibly shuddered but he was back in the here and now, and he gave Mikey a weak smile, "Yeah…but it was touch and go for a while and I was way out of my element."

Mikey held up the bullet and stared at it thoughtfully, "Y'know, the movies make it seem like a bullet to the shoulder is no big deal." His brother gave him a sharp look at that but Mikey kept talking, not letting Donnie get a word in, "The hero's always like, 'no biggie, I'll just grab a pair of tweezers, give it a good yank and slap on a band-aid!' and then he's like, right as rain and manages to fight like an army of bad guys, right after! Clearly the writers don't do their research on how much it friggin' hurts!" Donnie huffed softly in amusement, and Mikey continued, "Who'd have thought the movies can be so unrealistic?"

He laughed, shaking his head, "Mikey, you…you're one of a kind, you know that?"

"I get that a lot," he smirked playfully.

"How's the pain?" Donnie asked.

"Hurts, but not as bad as it did earlier," Mikey replied with a sigh as he glanced down at the bandages on his shoulder and then his propped up knee.

"That's good—you really had us worried," Donnie gave him a sympathetic smile, "You're not due for more painkillers for a couple of more hours, but if it gets worse, let me know."

"How long will I be out of concession?"

"Commission," he corrected him with an amused snort, "I'm not really sure, I guess it all depends on you but at least a couple of weeks."

"Aw man, this is gonna suuucckk!" Mikey whined, "Gonna be so boring!"

Donnie grinned, "I'm sure it won't be that bad. Besides, once you're strong enough to stay awake more than five minutes, I've got it covered."

"You do?"

"Sure! I asked April to get you some comic books, and she brought not one, but three anthologies of _Justice Force_," Donnie told him, "and I know you're not into reading books without pictures, but I found some novels that I think you'd actually enjoy. And don't forget all the games we've got and I downloaded some movies I think you'd like on my laptop."

Mikey grinned weakly, feeling himself getting tired again, "Thanks man, you're the best! Saved my life and my sanity!"

Donnie laughed, and the haunted look in his eyes was almost gone replaced with relief. Mikey weakly lifted his good arm and beckoned him to lean forward.

"C'mere bro!" Mikey grimaced and tried to sit up, "Give ol' Mikey a hug!" Donnie leaned forward and Mikey wrapped his arm around him and Donnie returned it.

"It's good to see you back," Donnie whispered, his voice full of emotion.

"Hey," Mikey could feel Donnie shaking and he tightened his hold, even though it hurt, "you did good man. It'll take more than a stupid gang to keep me away for long." Mikey rubbed Donnie's shell a moment before Donnie pulled back.

Donnie was about to say something else but Master Splinter knocked gently, "May I come in?"

"Of course," Donnie nodded.

"Michelangelo," Splinter smiled, "you're looking better."

Mikey smiled, "As the saying goes, you can't keep a good turtle down!"

"I don't think that's how…" Donnie started but Splinter interrupted him.

"Donatello, it's late. I believe it is time for you to get some rest," he ordered, "I will look after Michelangelo."

"I'm OK, Sensei," Donnie insisted but Splinter gave him a look, one of _those_ looks that says, 'you'll do as I say no arguing' and Donnie reluctantly nodded. "I gave Mikey more painkillers two hours ago, so he won't be due for more until…"

"I've got it from here, go to bed," Splinter waved him off, "you need rest to clear your mind."

"OK," Donnie sighed, "and don't forget he needs another dose of antibiotics soon…"

"I know," Splinter smiled gently, "you have done a great job looking after your brother, it's my turn now. If I need you I will call, but we should be OK."

"Right," Donnie nodded, "Well, good night then Mikey, I'll see you in the morning."

Mikey frowned in confusion, having no sense of time of day. It kind of threw him a bit because he had been sleeping so much the last few days, "Night."

Donnie left the room somewhat reluctantly and Splinter gave him a warm smile, "Donatello has hardly left this room the past few days. It's been quite an ordeal for him, for all of us. Indeed all of your brothers have been quite reluctant to leave your side, but especially Donatello. So much was thrust on his shoulders, I think he's still quite shaken up about it."

"I kinda picked up on that," Mikey replied softly, He yawned, his eyes heavy as he stared off in the direction Donnie had left, "I'm sorry to put you guys through that."

"It's not your fault," Splinter replied, "you did the right thing."

"I should've been able to take them," Mikey sighed, feeling a little sorry for himself. _I'll bet Leo or Raph or Donnie would've been able to save Grace and still be OK..._

"Well, you were at a disadvantage," Splinter pointed out, "yet even injured you managed to protect that girl and get away with your life. Don't dwell on what has passed, learn from it. We are just relieved that you are alive and getting better."

"Master Splinter?" Mikey asked softly, feeling himself fall into a healing sleep once again but he fought it. There was another question on his mind that he needed to figure out, "While I was fighting those guys…after they shot me I kinda passed out."

Splinter nodded, silently urging him to continue.

"Well…I heard your voice call my name," Mikey continued and he saw something shift in his Sensei's eyes, "It was like you were right there beside me and I woke up a second before they could shoot me in the head. If it weren't for that…voice…I think they would've actually succeeded in killing me… Was it…I don't know…you keep talking about the universe and connectedness and stuff…did I imagine things or did you…"

Mikey was taken aback, because he saw Splinter's eyes water and he placed his hand on Mikey's cheek and lowered his head so that his forehead was pressed against Mikey's.

"Sensei?"

Splinter lifted his head but kept his hand on Mikey's cheek, "Perhaps. There are many mysteries that we may never come to understand…"

Closing his eyes Mikey smiled softly. His answer was ambiguous, but it was his reaction, what remained unspoken that helped him understand the truth. _Thanks for saving my life, father._

"Rest my son," Splinter said as Mikey started to drift off. He felt his hand leave his cheek and felt him tuck his blanket around him, "We will be here when you wake up."

0-0-0

Meanwhile Chris Bradford nursed a drink, a frown on his face. Beside him was Xever, who seemed just as miserable but also a little smug. It had been a little over a week since his spectacular failure with the turtle freaks, and he was still waiting to hear from Master Shredder and they both knew he was not going to be pleased. His successful dojo business and small time celebrity status managed to keep him busy, and thankfully Master Shredder had yet to summon him, but now that his convention was over, it was only a matter of time before he would have to face his master.

Hopefully Master Shredder would go easy on him, after all he was his number one disciple, and hadn't failed him before, though he was not exactly known for mercy. Bradford only hoped he wouldn't have to be reduced to _begging_ for it.

It had been a perfect trap, the idiot turtle fell for his ruse hook, line and sinker…he was the perfect bait. How did his stupid brothers manage to turn the tables on them?

_I still can't believe that idiot turtle used my own Death Dragon against me…_

He motioned the bartender for another drink and when he set the glass on the counter in front of him he asked, "Hey you look familiar, aren't you that martial arts guy? Chuck…no uh Chris, that's right Chris Bradford!"

Bradford had just finished a convention and was not in the mood for dealing with more fans. It was exhausting trying to keep a smile on his face and an easy going attitude with such a failure hanging over his head, knowing that he was going to be in deep shit once Master Shredder found out. His hand was still aching from all the autographs he had to sign to his fat, lazy fans who could only dream to possess the skills he had, but lacked any motivation to pursue them.

On the plus side, it was good for business and some of the people who signed up had promise. He could usually tell who would be good candidates to join the Foot, and who would only be a waste of time and therefore were the biggest source of income as he charged them almost double. His intuition in that aspect was rarely off.

"That I am," Bradford sighed.

"My son's a big fan," the bartender beamed, "do you think maybe I could get your auto…"

"No."

The bartender frowned slightly, but tried to remain cheerful, as though that would help him get a better tip. He sensed Xever beside him tense and strain to listen in on a conversation going on at a nearby table. Curious, Bradford tried to pick up on whatever caught Xever's attention but the bartender continued. "Please? This round's on the house if you'd do this one favor…"

Bradford sighed, "Alright fine. What's the kid's name?"

"Tim, man he'll be so thrilled. He really wanted to go to your convention thingie but…"

"Yeah, yeah," Bradford nodded absently, scribbling his name on a napkin and purposely addressing it to 'Jim'. He pushed the napkin over to the bartender who thanked him graciously as he scribbled over the curl in the letter 'J', trying to remain inconspicuous about it.

The bartender left to help more patrons on the other side of the counter as Bradford turned his head slightly towards the table that caught Xever's interest. There were three people at the table, two of them looked somewhat beaten up, one had his arm wrapped in a bandage and healing bruises and cuts, the other had a line of stitches across his face peeking out from a bandage over his eye.

"Are you sure it wasn't just some kid in a costume?" asked the only guy that wasn't sporting what Bradford guessed was a week old injury. He had his arms folded and had a skeptical look on his face.

"That's what I thought at first," the eye injury guy said, "but I'm telling you it was a turtle, a big, humanoid turtle!"

Bradford perked up at that, exchanging interested glances with Xever.

"Man, you sure you don't have a concussion or something? That's the craziest thing I ever heard!"

"It's true man," arm injury guy added, "and it was like some karate or kung fu expert or something. You know I've been hearing rumors about these mutant creatures…"

"Aw don't tell me you believe that stupid urban legend. You and your dumbass government conspiracies…" he scoffed, "escaped mutants…what you think they were created as like, secret weapons or something?"

"Maybe…"

"The thing took my eye!"

"You're exaggerating…"

"Doc says that I might never get my sight in this eye back…"

The uninjured guy chuckled, "Sounds like Karma to me…"

Eye injury guy raised a fist, ready to go berserk on his buddy, "Shut the fuck up! When I get my hands on that…_thing_...I'm gonna make sure it suffers…"

"It's probably already dead," arm injury guy quipped, "it was bleedin' pretty good. Bet it crawled into some corner and…"

"Yeah well if it didn't…" he smacked his fist on the table angrily, growling in frustration.

"Hey!" the bartender yelled, "you gonna fight you take it outside!"

"Whatever man," he scowled, slapping some bills on the table and storming out. The others followed and as they passed the counter Xever stood up to follow.

"Where are you going?" Bradford demanded.

Xever turned to him and sneered, "Recruiting."

"Aw come on, those undisciplined goons are a waste of…"

"You heard what they said," Xever shrugged indifferently as he started to follow, "aren't you even a little curious?"

Bradford rolled his eyes, hating to admit that Xever was right. Scowling at his rival's backside he set his drink down and joined him.

"What the fuck do you assholes want?" the guy with the eye injury hissed when they noticed Bradford and Xever walking up towards them.

"Excuse me gentlemen," Xever grinned, a dangerous and victorious gleam in his eyes, "we couldn't help but overhear your conversation. I've got a proposition to make…"

* * *

A/N And so the plot thickens...or thins...hmm. Wow, that was the longest chapter yet! I certainly can be long winded sometimes! Anyway, I am calling this the end of act one. Stay tuned for part two...hopefully it won't take as long to get the next chapter up as it did this one.

Thanks again for reading! Please, leave a review and let me know, good or bad, what you think! Helps keep the muse well fed y'know. ;-)


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